The Sad Man
by KorovaMilkBar
Summary: Six years ago, Jack saw the face of evil. He and another were near victims of a madman. But they were saved by a dark being with strange powers. Today, Jack still wonders who or what that being was. Using the ground bridge, he goes back to find out the truth, but stumbles upon the dark secrets of this world and the demons within. Test story-Indefinite hiatus. M for language
1. Chapter 1

_~Fucking in the bushes by Oasis begins playing from cell phone~_

A word of advice, never set your favorite song to your phone, or you will grow to hate it. Unfortunately, Jackson Darby wasn't given this advice and now it was forever associated with the pain of having to get up for school. He used to really like that song. Jack sat up on his bed, wearing nothing but his boxers and a white t-shirt, and attempted to stretch the feeling into his still sleeping limbs. After letting out an exhausted groan, he took a minute to gather the strength to keep his eyes open for more than a few seconds.

"Alright, I'm up." The teen barely said.

Jack rubbed his face and got up to turn on the small t.v. in his room. It was an old box that had been left to gather dust in his garage. He decided to bring it into his room and hook it up to the cable line so he could at least get local channels. Getting ready in the mornings were made a little more bearable when he had the local news playing in the background. Every so often, he would learn something interesting while he got dressed.

Jack did his usual thing, brushed his teeth, washed his face, clean his ears, and got dressed. He once again wore his favored ensemble, black and white canvas shoes, blue jeans, and of course, his dual gray shirts. This often drew the mockery of his fellow students who claimed that he looked like the lead singer of a 90's grunge band.

'Whatever.' He thought.

Jack never cared much what others thought, especially since he had met Arcee and the Autobots. Jack was a Prime after all. He had nothing to prove to a bunch of high school kids who had no idea what they wanted in life.

Jack was more or less ready to head out, but it was still a bit early to leave just yet, so he decided to soak up some more news. He sat back down and observed the topic they were covering at the moment. The scene was somewhere in New York, with shots of several candles, flowers, and photos of various children were being left outside of an alleyway in what looked to be in the seedier part of the city. Jack recognized the alley almost right away. He quickly got up and shut off the television, not wanting to hear anymore about it. He took a slightly deeper breath before letting it out. Then he looked at his calendar.

March 13th

'That's why.' He thought to himself. 'Today makes six years.'

Jack let himself remember that day for a moment. Try as he had for six years, he could never erase what happened back then. He was lucky, luckier than the rest, him and the girl. But even though he had gotten through that whole ordeal without a scratch, it left a mark on him and his mother. Jack never told anyone about it, not even Arcee. What was the point? It all came to end that night and though it still affects him today, it didn't hold him back with crippling fear. It was just a bad memory, everyone had one. But today was the six year anniversary of when it happened and he escaped with his life. He wondered what she was doing right now, if she was thinking about it like he was. He also thought about "Him", the "man" who had saved them both from that...monster.

Jack decided that he needed to ride to get his mind off of everything. Hopefully, Arcee wouldn't pick up that something was bothering him. What was he thinking? Of course she would. They were partners. They had both become really good at reading each other. She would know that something was up. But thankfully, she also knew when to give Jack some space. Arcee was never the type to push someone to talk when they didn't want to, at least not since Jack had known her.

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"Morning, Arcee." Jack said as came into the garage.

"Early morning, you mean, even for you." Arcee, still in her alt form, replied. "We heading out already?."

Jack played in off like it was just a random change in things.

"Got up earlier than I meant to. Figured I'd just head out right now and let you get back to base instead of just waiting in my room where I'll be tempted to go back to sleep."

Arcee paused, but Jack didn't get a sense of suspicion from her.

"Alright, if you say so. Hop on, partner."

Jack grabbed his helmet and climbed on top of the cobalt motorcycle. The garage door opened and the two were off before it started closing.

Jack was quiet most of the way, which he knew wasn't unnoticed by Arcee. Any minute now, she was going to ask what was wrong.

"Hey, Jack."

There we go.

"Yo?"

"Something was up with your mother this morning."

Okay, not about him. That was a good sign.

"What do you mean?"

"She came into the garage earlier to get to her car instead of leaving through the front door like she always does . She seemed...more worried than usual. I asked what was up and out of nowhere, she asked me to take care of you."

"She did?"

"Yeah...At first, I just chalked it up to June being June, but she looked like she had something heavy on her mind. Any idea what that was about?"

Jack knew what it was about, alright. But he wasn't going to relive the past, not this early in the morning anyway.

"I don't know...Maybe she had bad dream about me. That always gets her worried."

"Really glad that I don't get those. I'd hate to go into recharge and have my mind show me my worst fears. I'd never want to rest again."

"She watches the news in the morning, too. Maybe she saw something that freaked her out and put her in ultra-protective mode. This morning, she peeked into my room before she went off to work."

June did do that and now that Jack knew what day it was, he understood why.

"You know how she gets." He added.

"Well, I hope she knows that she doesn't have to worry. I'd never let anything happen to you."

Jack smiled underneath his helmet. Arcee probably didn't realize that what she said meant a lot to him. It reminded him that she cared about him, enough to want to protect him. This made him think of his first "savior". He wondered what he was like, if he and Jack could've been friends like he and Arcee were.

The pair came up to the school, which looked almost abandoned this early in the morning.

"Well, we're here. Have a good day, Jack."

"You too, 'Cee."

"Are you working today?"

Jack thought, for a moment, about his mother.

"I think I'm just gonna call in and head straight to base after school."

"Are you sure?"

"Yeah, my boss won't miss me over one day."

"Alright, then. See after school, partner."

"Later, Arcee."

Jack removed his helmet and put it in Arcee's subspace. He waved her as she activated Sadie and drove off, having her wave back.

'She really does look good in leather.' Jack thought.

Jack went inside of the school building, which barely had any people in it. He used the time he had before school actually started to call his boss and let him know that he wasn't coming in. This was the right thing to do, he felt. He would make sure that his mother knew he would be with the Autobots all day after school let out, as to make her less worried. Today was just a difficult day for them, but they'd get through it. They always did.

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"Hey, Jack."

Jack was in the middle of putting his chemistry book away so he could leave his class for the next one when Sierra walked up to him and said his name. True to the crush he still had on the red head, Jack's awkwardness level had risen with his urge to rub the back of his head.

"H-hey, Sierra."

"Another boring day in chemistry, huh?"

"Oh, yeah, really boring."

"So...you doing anything after school today?"

"What?"

This wasn't the first time Sierra had seemed to have taken an interest in him. Ever since Jack had offered her a ride on a motorcycle that wasn't his, which was not really smart when he looked back on it, she had suddenly begun to notice him more. But after Arcee's perfect timing the last time they talked to each other and Sierra thought that Sadie was Jack's girlfriend, he was sure that his chances with her were blown away like the Decepticon's first space bridge.

"If not, I was kinda wondering if...I can get another ride with you."

Jack was surprised that Sierra was still so interested in him, even after last time. The way she was blushing and shrinking around him showed that she still was. Maybe she did believe him when he told her that Sadie was his mother. Not his best cover up, he realized.

"Maybe, we could hang out for a while...ya'know, after the ride."

Wow, this was really happening, wasn't it? After two years of silently wishing for Sierra to notice him, here she was trying to get _his_ attention. This was a dream come true for Jack and he knew that Arcee wouldn't mind being his wingman on this. She said she'd make it up for him after picking him up from K.O. that day. This was his chance to really hit it off with Sierra...except he couldn't.

"I-I'm sorry, Sierra. Today is just _not_ a good day."

Sierra's hopeful expression fell into clear disappointment.

"Really?"

"Yeah, I...I can't."

"Oh, okay." The bummed out teen said as she looked down.

"Rain check?" Jack replied, hoping he didn't kill this in the crib.

"Uh, yeah, yeah." Sierra said back quickly.

Clearly, she was hoping this wouldn't be the last shot she had with Jack.

"Okay, I'll get back to you, then. Sorry, again."

"Don't be sorry, Jack. Dad wants me to come home early, anyway. You know, because of that thing in New York."

Jack's mood changed again, though Sierra didn't notice. As Jack left the classroom, Sierra walked out with him.

"He always gets freaked out every year when everyone remembers what happened and then he gets really protective of me and my little brother. He was really freaked out six years ago when it happened. Not that I blame him. I mean, how horrible was that, all those little kids?"

Jack was silent now, trying his best not to go back to that day.

"Ya know, maybe I should spend time with my brother. You think?"

Sierra looked to Jack who didn't look well.

"Jack?"

Jack snapped out of it.

"Huh?"

"Are you alright?"

"Uh...Yeah, yeah. Just tired. I got here really early this morning."

"Oh."

"Yeah, you should spend time with your brother."

"Maybe you're right. He may be an annoying little monster, but I still love him. Thanks, Jack."

"Don't mention, Sierra. See you after class."

"Uh, Jack?"

"Yeah?"

"That was our _last_ class."

Jack was out of it worse than he thought. He forgot that his day ended with chemistry.

"Right." He said embarrassed.

"Are you sure you're alright?" Sierra asked, touching his arm.

"Yeah, I'm fine. I gotta go. Rain check, okay?"

"Alright. Bye, Jack."

"Bye, Sierra."

Jack and Sierra parted ways and made it outside of the building. Arcee was waiting for Jack by the sidewalk. Before he went to her, Jack sent his mother a quick message.

 _"Called in sick today. Heading straight to base with Autobots. Don't worry."_

Hopefully, his mother wouldn't be too worried about him now. Jack mounted Arcee's alt and she turned her mirrors to look at him.

"You all good, partner?"

"All good, Arcee."

"Alright."

The two rode off to base, though Arcee noticed that Jack was still very quiet as he was this morning. When they arrived at Outpost Omega One, everyone else had already beaten them there. Arcee deliberately took the longer route to enjoy the ride with Jack, but was slightly disappointed that he wasn't as responsive as he normally was. There was something up with him today.

Jack received a text from his mother, responding to his earlier message.

 _"Thank God. I feel better knowing you're with them. Remember, straight home before curfew. I love you, Jack."_

"Text from your Mom?" Arcee said from behind Jack.

Jack closed the message and put his phone away.

"Yeah, just checking in on me."

"She is _really_ protective today, isn't she?"

"You know my Mom."

Jack quickly walked up to the living area with Miko and Raf while Arcee watched him. June wasn't the only one acting strange. Miko was talking to Bulkhead by the railing while Raf was watching something on the television. Odd, since he was never big on TV. Jack sat down next to Raf, feeling a slight urge to hug the little guy, considering today. But that would be a bit out of character and would set off some alarms with the others. He decided to take his mind of everything with math homework. Miko was behind the couch, soon after.

"You two are officially the biggest dorks in the world."

"What?" They both responded.

"Jack, you get a day off from 'Fatality Burger' and you decide to spend it doing your homework. Meanwhile, with all the cool cartoons we could be watching, Raf is watching the news? Ungh, what are you, 100?"

"I was just watching this thing I saw this morning before 'Bee picked me up. They're still talking about it."

Rafael increased the volume of the television so Jack and Miko could hear it better, though Jack remained focused on his homework. The female reporter began detailing where she was and what she was reporting.

 _"I'm here in Central Park where as you can see, mourners and well wishers are already gathering to remember the tragic murders that occurred over the summer six years ago before coming to an end on this very day."_

Jack looked up suddenly, realizing what Rafael was watching.

 _"Dozens have already shown up to pay their respects to the 28 known victims, all them children, of one of America's most sadistic serial killers..."_

"Whoah, 28!" Miko shouted, drowning out the reporter as she said the aforementioned killer's name. "This actually happened?"

"I was only six and I remember hearing about it on the news." Raf said. "I didn't know it was 28 victims though."

Bulkhead, Bumblebee, and Arcee had heard the commotion and decided to see what all the fuss was about.

 _"It all came to an end in the alley where the killer would dump his victim's bodies. He was found beaten and dead, having been shot in the head, before he could be apprehended. Police were not able to determine who was behind this vigilante murder. The night was not without good news, however, as the police were able to prevent the murders of two more children which would've brought the death toll to an even 30. The little girl and boy that were rescued, one Ja-"_

Jack had quickly gotten the remote and changed the channel before anything else could be said.

"Hey, we were watching that!" Bulkhead complained.

"You guys don't wanna see that." Jack responded.

"Seriously." Miko agreed. "What a downer."

"I don't know." Arcee, suddenly concerned, said. "Maybe we should get you kids home early today."

Arcee was watching Jack closely, noticing how tense he was becoming. It didn't escape her how quickly he switched away from the news.

"Don't go all 'Ms. Darby' on us Arcee." Miko said. "You turn into a motorcycle, not a helicopter. Besides, what's safer than being here with you guys?"

"Ah, Miko's right." Bulkhead agree. "Besides, nothing happens in this rinky dink town anyway."

"Yeah" Miko said back. "So let's forget about serial killers and all that. We've got the internet hooked up to the games, I just downloaded the Rooster Teeth app, and RWBY Volume 4 starts today."

"I'm not sure I'm ready for that." Raf said.

"C'mon, all aboard the Lancaster Ship!" Miko shouted as she set the game system.

"I still ship Arkos." Raf said under his breath.

Jack, however, kept doing his homework. Arcee could see that he was trying to keep himself distracted. Was that whole thing on the news what got June so worried this morning? Was Jack worried about it too? If so, why? It happened in New York, at least two thousand miles away. Now Arcee was getting worried, but she didn't press Jack on what was going on. Her partner was allowed to have his secrets, as she did. If he didn't share them with her, there was a good reason. But she kept watch over him. If he needed help, she wouldn't be far.

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If Arcee thought Jack was acting strange earlier, she was sure he was when he asked to be taken home earlier than usual. Once again, he was quiet. Arcee wanted to ask what was wrong with him, but she knew she wouldn't get a straight answer. Jack wasn't to proud or anything to ask for help, but he was self conscious. He had a thing about being someone elses burden so he tended not to ask for help if it was something he could handle on his own. Arcee admired that about him, but it also meant having to step in if he ended up taking too much on his plate. She was beginning to wonder if this was one of those time.

Arcee and Jack pulled up and saw that June's car in the driveway, meaning she was already home. When they entered the garage, June was waiting for them.

"Jack."

"Mom?"

Jack removed his helmet and allowed his mother to hug him.

"You're home early." He said.

"So are you. I asked to leave early today."

"Same."

Jack shut the garage door and placed his helmet on the table against the wall.

"You okay, Mom?"

"Better now."

"Good, I'm glad. Anyway, I'll be in my room. Good night, guys." He said as he walked to the door.

"Night Jack." They both said.

"Jack?" June called.

"Mom?"

"I love you."

Jack walked back from the door and hugged her again.

"I love you, too."

Jack went inside, leaving June with a relieved, yet concerned look on her face.

"Okay, what's going on?" Arcee asked.

"What?" June responded as she looked at the blue motorcycle behind her.

"You and Jack, you've both been acting weird all day. First this morning, then Jack not going to work, and you both decided to come home early? What's wrong, June? What's got you botj so worried?"

"It's nothing, Arcee."

"Does this have anything to do with what happened in New York six years ago?"

June looked surprised.

"How do you know about that?"

"I heard about it on news back at base, or at least, I would've if Jack hadn't rushed to change the channel. Is that why you two are so worried...because of those kids."

June's face became saddened suddenly. Arcee transformed, looking to comfort the single mother.

"Look, June, I understand. Hearing about something that awful would make any mother worry. Believe me, when I found out what happened, a part of wanted to never let the three of them leave the base again. For someone to actually do all that..."

Arcee stopped herself. She didn't even want to picture what might've been done to those kids. Such a thing never happened on Cybertron. Megatron did a lot of fragged up things, but he still had standards and lines he wouldn't cross. Even Airachnid had never hunted sparklings on Cybertron, though Arcee felt it was more about being less of a sport than anything. Still, the idea of a human targeting helpless children for his own sick thrills, it angered her.

"I won't let that happen to Jack. Bulkhead and Bumblebee wouldn't let that happen to Raf or Miko either. And I know you trust Optimus more than anyone. He'd break his harm no human rule before he'd let someone like that get his hands on any one of them. You don't ever have to worry June, not about this. As long as I'm here, I'd never let anyone hurt either of you."

June looked up and smiled at Arcee, but looked as if she had something to say.

"Sit down, Arcee. I have to tell you something."

Arcee looked confused, but she adjusted herself and took a seat against the wall opposite of the garage door.

"What is it, June?"

"Jack wouldn't want me to tell you this, but you have a right to know."

Arcee didn't like how that sounded. If Jack was keeping something from her, it must've been bad.

"So, you've heard it on the news. The child killer and the 28 victims...and I'm sure you've already heard of the two that were rescued."

"Yeah...Jack changed the channel before they could talk about them. One girl and one boy, right?"

June took a deep breath, bracing herself for something.

"The boy that was rescued...that was Jack."

Arcee's optics went wider than June had ever seen them. As hard and fierce as the femme was, June never expected her capable of such an expression of fear.

"What?" Arcee said with a weak voice.

June took another breath.

"He drove an ice cream truck to attract all the kids. Then he'd pick one for his next victim, lure him or her into the truck, and..."

She looked down, not wanting to say what happened to them out loud. Jack was almost one of these victims, saying it would make it easier to picture it happening to him.

"28 children... _that they know of_. There could've been 100 for all anyone knew. That monster...He kidnapped Jack."

June was getting emotional and Arcee saw the tears in her eyes.

"June."

"Thank God the police got to him in time, him and the little girl."

"Who was this guy?"

June's face became hardened, as thinking of this twisted man had always made her angry.

"His name was Billy Kincaid."

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Six years ago

Every child on the block stopped what they were doing when they heard the delightful jingle of the ice cream truck approaching. Once the white and pink vehicle pulled up, all the children gathered around with their dollar bills and coins to ask the kindly ice cream man for their favorite treat. Most of them got their snacks and ran off back inside their homes. Others thanked the ice cream man, earning them a genuine smile in return. Eventually, all of them were served and they departed back to their front yards or inside their houses. None of them were paying attention to anything else and there was not a single adult in sight. The kindly ice cream man looked around and saw a young boy with no ice cream in his hand. The boy looked up and saw the man motioning him to his truck. He walked over, wondering what the man wanted.

" _What's the matter, little one? Don'tcha like ice cream_?"

The shy, little, ebony haired boy nodded his head.

" _How come you didn't get any with all the other kids_?"

"I didn't ask my Mom for any money."

" _Aw, that's no good. It just ain't fair that all the kids get to eat ice cream except you. Well, I'll tell you what. Just this once, I'll let you have any ice cream you want_."

The young boy visibly perked up when the ice cream man told him that.

"You would?"

" _Of course. All the little girls and boys are my friends and that's what friends do. So what'll be, drumstick, icee, ice cream sandwich_?"

"Do you have a...cookie dough cone?" The boy bashfully asked.

" _That's my favorite, too_." The ice cream man cheerfully said. " _We have a lot in common_."

The man was about to grab the ice cream, but stopped to tell the boy something.

" _Hey, why don't come to the back of the truck_."

"Huh?"

" _All the other kids had to pay and I don't want them getting jealous. Come around the back and I'll hand it to you through the door_."

"Oh, okay."

The boy walked around to the back of the truck and waited for the ice cream man to give him his cookie dough cone. The door opened and the ice cream man held out the cone for the boy to take.

" _Here ya' go_." He playfully said.

But just as the boy went to take it, the man's other hand jumped out and before he knew what was where, he was pulled inside the truck without anyone noticing. The boy was thrown on the truck floor and the ice cream man pinned him down hard. Before he could scream, the man held a funny smelling clothe over his mouth.

" _Shshshshsh, it's okay. Juuust a little nap_."

The boy felt himself become sleepy all of a sudden and then everything went black.

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Arcee sat there with her mouth opened slightly. She felt a cold shudder go up her frame.

"Primus." She said to herself.

"I came out and he was gone. None of the other children saw what happened." June explained.

"But why? Why would this Billy Kincaid choose Jack out of everyone?"

"He probably saw how shy Jack was. Maybe he thought he wouldn't be so quick to scream. I don't know...All I know is that when me and Joseph..."

"Joseph?" Arcee interrupted.

"Oh, Jack's father."

Arcee was surprised by that.

"Wait, this happened while you were still married?"

"Yes."

"So, Jack gets kidnapped by a child killer and he decides to abandon you both?"

"Joseph was a selfish child who didn't know how to be there for his traumatized son. The point is...that monster had my baby and he was going to kill him."

Arcee could hear the slight cracks in June's voice. Just listening to the story that had already happened filled Arcee's spark with fear. She couldn't even imagine what it was like for June when it happened. Now she understood why she was so protective of Jack.

"So what happened? How did you get Jackson back?"

"Well...We did the only thing we could do, call the police and pray to God that our son was okay. There was another couple there, the Fitzgeralds. They're daughter had gone missing the day before. We didn't realize at the time that the same killer had also gotten to her but didn't harm her yet. But as for how they were rescued...that's a different story altogether."

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When Jack regained consciousness, he found himself tied up and blindfolded. The poor boy was scared out of his mind, not knowing what was going on or where he was. Within a few seconds, he remembered what happened. The ice cream man had taken him and put him to sleep.

"Hello?" The scared boy called.

He heard the sounds of shuffling only a few feet away from him.

"Who's that?" He asked.

They did not answer. But Jack listened closely and could tell that it was another child who was crying.

"Are you okay?"

The child answered back.

"No, I'm scared."

Jack could tell from her voice that she was a girl and probably younger than him.

"Me too."

"I want my Mommy."

"I do, too...My name's Jack."

"I'm Cyan."

"It'll be okay. Our Moms will find us. I know they will."

But Jack was just as afraid as Cyan was. Suddenly, they both heard the door open and heavy footsteps enter the room. Jack knew it was the ice cream man. Suddenly, he felt himself shaking uncontrollably. He heard the sound of a match being struck and from the small bit of clothe that bridged between his nose and face, he saw a flickering light appear. A candle, he wondered. As he lit more, he could hear the frightened whimpers of his fellow captive. Jack wanted to do something the help her, but he couldn't even help himself.

The sound of music filled the room. Jack didn't know what it was, but it sounded old, like the music his grandparents listened to. He heard the footsteps of his captor approaching.

" _Time to have that ice cream_." He said. But to who, Jack didn't know. " _Mm, such a pretty one_."

Again, Jack wasn't sure who he was talking to, him or Cyan.

" _Do you like the music? I like the music very much_?"

He must've been talking to Cyan.

" _Would you like to dance? Just you and me."_

As young as Jack was, somehow, he knew that the ice cream man didn't just want a dance. He wasn't sure what he really wanted, nor did he wish to find out.

" _But first...I scream, you scream, we all scream for ice cream...Oh, very good_."

"Leave her alone!" Jack shouted.

Jack could almost feel the man turn towards him and he quickly regretted his sudden bravery.

" _What?...Oh...I haven't forgotten about you, little boy_."

Jack managed to get him away from Cyan, but now _he_ had the man's attention. He heard the foot steps stop in front of him. His blindfold was pulled away.

 _"I'm sorry. I didn't mean to leave you out_."

In the flickering light of the candles, the man looked far scarier than he did in the daytime. The man stepped back, observing his two prized captives, allowing Jack to observe his surroundings. It looked like a basement, like the one in his home. It was tidier than his own, with a few shelves and desks that held books lined up together. On the far wall, Jack saw a picture of a man in a suit, standing in front of the American flag. He'd seen him on t.v. before, on the news his father liked to watch. Cyan's weak noises made Jack look to her. She was a little black girl. Though Jack couldn't know for sure, she certainly looked younger than him.

" _Such a cute pair, like little scoops of chocolate and vanilla. I think you two make a cute couple_."

He sounded scary, but spoke almost like a child. Somehow, that made him even scarier.

"Please...Let us go." Jack barely said.

" _You can't go. What about the dance_? _You and you...together_."

How can someone make something so innocent sound so...wrong? He approached them both, ill intent in his eyes. Jack's chest tightened. Fear was gripping him by the heart, not just for him, but for Cyan as well.

He walked up to Cyan first, picking her up and holding her under his arm. Jack saw that they were bound together by a short length of rope, which meant that wherever they were going, he was meant to follow. Jack searched for that inner bravery from earlier, but found nothing. Feeble as it would've been, he couldn't even yell for the man to leave them alone. Whatever he had in store for them, he was powerless to stop it.

And then, he felt something. Jack couldn't explain it, but he felt another presence in the room. Cyan must've felt it to, because she looked off into one of the dark corners of the room. When Jack followed her sight, he saw something...moving. Whatever it was, it was too dark to make it out. But it felt different from anything Jack had seen. It felt...not human.

"Move away from the children." A dark and cold voice demanded ever too calmly. "Now."

Suddenly, Jack saw them. Two eyes, green and glowing, and most certainly not human. Then, the light cast upon him and Jack saw something...or someone that would follow him all the way into his teens. Even with the light, he couldn't tell what this misshapen person looked like. All he saw was...red.

The man suddenly swiped the candles and jars full of liquid off of a nearby table. Cyan immediately began crying because of the sudden reaction and loud sound of glass breaking. The candles and jars hit the shadowy being, breaking the glass on impact. The candles ignited the liquid, setting the being ablaze, causing him to fall back onto another table of candles. As the fire began to take him, Jack saw that the red was some kind of cloak that shrouded the entire being.

The man with the cloak began writhing in pain, desperately trying to put the fire out. As Cyan cried even louder, the ice cream man began laughing like a madman.

"You're on fire!" He said as he continued laugh almost demonically.

Everything after that happened too fast for Jack to follow. Somehow, he and Cyan were pulled back upstairs in into the garage, where they were thrown in the back of what had to be the ice cream truck. Neither could tell, as both of their blindfolds were put back on.

Jack could hear the sounds of sirens in the distance. They had to be there because of the fire. There was hope for him and Cyan. The ice cream man started the truck and just as Jack worked his blindfold down, he saw him drive right through the garage door. From the back window, Jack saw a dozen or so police vehicles giving chase, but the man was somehow outrunning them. Even with the police behind them, Jack was still scared. He had no idea what this man was going to do or if and when he would crash the truck into a wall or another vehicle. With every sharp turn, every narrow miss of another vehicle, Jack braced himself for the end. He didn't want to die, but he didn't know what to do. All he could do was huddle up close to Cyan and hope that he at least made her less scared than he was. The truck swerved a little and Jack saw a smaller car spinning out of control behind them and collide head on with an oil truck. By this point, helicopters could be heard from above, but that did nothing to slow the truck down.

Just when Jack was about to give up hope, something ripped through the roof over the drivers seat. It was a clawed hand, clad in red with spikes on the fist. It aimlessly tried to grab at the ice cream man, causing him to stir in the drivers seat, moving the wheel every time he did. Suddenly, the truck collided with something and Jack swore he saw bits of fire through the windshield. The man lost control and the truck tipped over on its side. Jack and Cyan were thrown around a bit and then everything went black.

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Jack drifted in an out for a bit. When he finally came to, he was being dragged by the rope as the ice cream man carried Cyan under his arm though some dark back alley. He could still hear the sirens and could see the red and blue lights from where there had just came. The ice cream man moved cautiously as Jack was forced to follow closely by the shortness of the rope. If he were only a little stronger, he could try and pull Cyan away and they could make a run for it together. But when the man pulled out a sinister looking blade from his belt, Jack considered it no further, afraid that he would hurt Cyan if he did.

As they moved deeper into the alley, they saw the figure from the basement again, his eyes still glowing threateningly.

"Let them go." He ordered with much more power in his voice.

Jack couldn't see him anymore clearly than in the basement. That only added to how frightening he was. The way his caped moved despite the lack of wind, it looked as if it was almost...alive. The ice cream man put the knife under Cyan's throat, causing Jack to freeze where he stood. Perhaps this strange person could save him, but he couldn't save Cyan. Thankfully, he pulled the blade away to address this person.

"You...don't...belong here." He said softly, yet still threatening.

What happened next was something he would never forget, even after his death.

His eyes began glowing again, sinister green. But suddenly, his body gave off a similar, but far greater light. It was the same green of his eyes and that eerily illuminated the alley. It wasn't warm or comforting like the sun. Jack felt something dark about it, but still, he wasn't threatened by it. His cloak had opened up, showing that he had an appearance of a human. As the light got brighter, the ice cream man began to groan in fear. That's when they struck.

To this day, Jack will never be convinced that it had happened any differently. The way the cloak shot forward, wrapping around the man's throat, his ankles, and lifted him off the ground, they were alive. They moved as if part of the beings body, like he was controlling them. One corner whipped between the man and Jack, cutting the rope that bounded him and Cyan. Then it wrapped around him, another around Cyan as the man dropped his knife. They were pulled closed to the cloaked being, while the man was lifted higher off the ground. They were gently placed by the side and the being glowed even brighter.

Jack saw the fear in the man's face, choking as the cloak tightened. They began pulling him closer, fear rising with every inch. He looked as if ready to scream at any moment as he pitifully tried to pull the cloak from his throat.

"HELP DADDDDDYYYYYYYYY!" He cried suddenly.

The being began walking closer now, leaving Cyan and Jack to run away. But they didn't, both were too scared to make a move, hypnotized by the light of the man in the red cloak. A small hand gabbed at Jack's sleeve. He looked and saw Cyan growing more frightened. Jack grabbed the little girl and hugged her, shielding her from what was to come as he shut his own eyes tightly as he could.

As he held the little girl close, Jack heard another voice. He wasn't sure if Cyan could hear it, or the man in the cloak, most certainly not the ice cream man, who could still be heard choking. But Jack heard it, another sinister voice coming from somewhere above them, as if watching them.

"Kill'em. Kill Him. Kill'em! Kill'em, Kill'em, Kill Him, Kill'em, Kill. Him. Kill Him! Kill Him! KILL'EM!"

But as if the man in the red cloak heard the voice himself...

"NNNNNNOOOOOOOO!" He yelled.

When he screamed, Jack looked up and saw him throw the ice cream man back into several garbage cans. The man hit them and landed on his head, hitting the ground hard and left unmoving. Jack watched as the ice cream man remained still as the dead, but exhaled his held breath when he saw him releasing breaths of his own. The light had gone away and the now shadowy figure led the two children away from the man who had taken them. As they left him behind, far enough that he was out of their view, they a heard a gunshot and paused suddenly. Jack wondered if it was the ice cream man or a policeman. But then he saw the red and blue lights around the corner and thought about it no further.

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They were taken to the end of an alleyway, where several police officers had surrounded the area. The figure knelt before the two children, his green eyes no longer threatening, but gentler...sad even.

"Hello." He said to the them. "Are you alright?"

Jack could see now that the figure wore a mask. It was black with white arches around the eyes from top to bottom. Even though he wasn't afraid, Jack wasn't able to speak. Cyan spoke first.

"I want my Mommy."

The solemn masked man seemed more focused on Cyan for some reason, but Jack didn't ask why.

"You...you go to your mommies now. They'll take care of you. You're going to be alright now."

As he said that, he placed something in Cyan's hand that Jack couldn't see. The little girl wiped her teary eyes and walked down the alley, taking Jack's hand as she did.

"Thank you." She said innocently.

As she pulled him away, Jack looked back at the sad looking masked man. He lifted his clawed hand, waving goodbye to him, before he turned around and disappeared into the dark alley.

"Thank you." Jack said lowly, hoping that somehow he heard him.

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As they walked into the light, hand in hand, the police didn't notice them. They had their weapons drawn, aimed at the alley entrance where the truck had drove through. One of the female officers noticed them.

"Oh my God, look. There they are." She said to another officer as she padded his back.

The officer, a heavyset man wearing a long coat, looked at them.

"Hold your fire, it's the kids." He said as they all withdrew their weapons.

He walked out of the pack, approaching them carefully.

"Are you two alright?" He asked kindly.

Again, Jack didn't speak but Cyan did.

"I just...I want my Mommy."

She sounded so exhausted from all of it. Jack felt the same way.

"Cyan!" A black woman cried as she ran through the crowd.

"Mommy!" Cyan called back.

As they ran to each other, Jack saw his mother.

"Jack!"

She followed the woman's path and ran up to Jackson, embracing him tightly as she cried herself into his shoulder.

"My baby." She said as Jack hugged her back.

Jack opened his eyes and saw that Cyan was also in the arms of her mother.

"Thank you. Thank you, God. Thank you." The woman said.

Jack's father and a black man, Cyan's father, came from the crowd and took their place with their families. Joseph took the sides of his son's head and pressed his own against him. He had been crying too, Jack could see. But now, he was safe. Cyan was safe and with her family. All four parents looked at each other, sharing the happiness of their children's return.

The woman saw that Cyan was holding something. She opened her hand and Jack saw that it was a ring. It was a gold ring, like the ones his Mom and Dad wore. The sight of it seemed to shock the woman.

"Honey...where'd you get this?" She asked.

"Hey gave it to me, Mommy? He did." Cyan innocently said.

"Who, sweetheart?"

Cyan looked back and pointed down the alley.

"The sad man." She said.

The woman looked at the ring, almost longingly.

"Al." She said to no one in particular, looking up at nothing.

Jack was released from June's embrace and looked down the alley too, wondering who the masked man in the red cloak was. Cyan's mother lifted her up and held her in her arms, whole her father hugged them both. Jack saw the mother glance down the alley again, as if looking for something. Did she know who he was, the "sad man"?

Joseph took off his jacket and put it around Jack. He lifted him to his chest, letting Jack wrap his arms around his neck. With his free arm, he took June, kissing his wife on the forehead, who stroked Jackson's back gently.

"Let's get you home, Jackie." He said, his voice stressed from worry.

"Okay." He tiredly said.

As they walked to the car, Jacked looked up again, hoping to see the sad man. His eyes fell upon a large chapel, topped with a crossed that stood in front of the moon. Before he was put in the back seat, Jack saw something at the base of the cross. It looked ripped and tattered, swaying in the breeze. Jack saw it and smiled. It was him. He knew it was him...still watching them.

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Arcee was silent, still trying to fathom everything that June had told her. Even though most of it June heard from Jack who was ten years old at the time, Arcee believed every word. She didn't know what to say. But after hearing that story, she knew how she felt, grateful. She was grateful to this "sad man" that Jack had spoke of. If it weren't for him, Jack wouldn't be here today...and she'd be without her partner. But who was he?

"Did you ever try to find out about him?" Arcee asked.

June was still back in the alley, remembering everything that happened after Jack was rescued.

"What?" She replied.

"The sad man, did you ever find out who it was?"

"No...I didn't want to. Where they found Jack and Cyan, it was where Billy Kincaid would dump the bodies. I never wanted to see that place again."

June suddenly grabbed herself by the shoulders, letting a shudder pass through her.

"And I didn't question it. I didn't care who he was or why he saved them. There were reports of murders happening in that alley, mafia guys mostly. I didn't want to know anymore than that. This man saved my son. I was grateful to him and I didn't want to diminish it by finding out anymore about him."

Arcee couldn't help but agree. It sounded like this person was as dangerous as he was mysterious. But if he saved Jack, she didn't need to know anything else. Even the glowing and the cape didn't concern her, though, it did intrigue her slightly.

"The little girl?"

"I don't know. We never reached out to her family. We thought it best to just put it all behind us."

"I see."

Arcee's face hardened.

"And Billy Kincaid?"

June's face became stern as she thought of that deranged man-child.

"He was found with a bullet in his head. Police didn't know who the shooter was."

"Good." Arcee said coldly.

June stood up, collecting herself after telling such an exhausting story.

"I'm going inside."

"June."

June paused to listen to Arcee.

"Jack's safe with me. I'll never let another Bill Kincaid come and try and take him away from you. You have my word."

June smiled, knowing that Arcee meant her vow.

"Thank you, Arcee."

Arcee transformed and moved to the center of the garage.

"Goodnight, June."

"Goodnight, Arcee."

June left Arcee with a lot to think about. A part of her was still shaken up by the thought of Jack not being there. She was more than thankful for not being able to dream, knowing that this would be the subject of her next one. This also made her sympathize with June. Primus knows what it must've been like in the months after it all happened. It seemed that humans had Decepticons of their own on Earth. Arcee once thought that Silas was the worst human she had ever known. That changed with this revelation.

She decided not to tell Jack that she knew what happened to him. He could tell her when he was ready, if he ever will be. But after tonight, she was going to make sure to enjoy every moment she spent with him, knowing that it almost didn't happen. And she was not going to let anyone, not the Airachnid, not Silas, not the Decepticons, and not people like Billy Kincaid ever bring harm to him. She was his guardian, just like the sad man. One day, she might search for this person and thank him for what he did.

Then she began thinking about what June told her. She did believe what Jack had told his mother, about the glowing, the cloak that moved on its own, even the voice he heard just before he threw Billy away. But if all that was true, Arcee had to wonder. This sad man, was he human...or something else?

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June entered the house and saw Jack leaving the kitchen with a glass of water in his hand. She stopped to take a good look at him. He was sixteen now, almost a man. He'd gotten taller, just an inch or two above her. His voice was deeper, more like his fathers. But he was all her when it came to the looks, right down to their blue eyes. She was happy that he reached this point, despite the actions of one man.

"Mom?"

She didn't realize that she was staring. June walked up to her son and took him in both her arms. It didn't matter how old he was, she would never stop hugging him as long as he was her son.

"I love you, Jackson."

Pausing, no doubt in confusion, Jack hugged her back with his free hand.

"I love you too, Mom."

"My Jack." She said as she held him tighter. "She loves you too, you know, Arcee. We love you more than you can ever know."

"Mom?"

June pulled away with tears in her eyes but also smiling. She put her hand to Jack's face, caressing it gently. Jack understood where this was coming from and he had a feeling what she and Arcee were talking about in the garage. June kissed Jack on the forehead and went into her room without saying anything else. Nothing else needed to be said.

Jack went into his room and took a seat at his computer. He opened the IM program and searched for someone he talked to every so often. When he found her, he sent her a message.

-Cyan, you there?

A minute or two had gone by before she responded back.

 _-Jack?_

-It's been a while. We haven't talked in months.

 _-I've tried messaging you last week, but you weren't there._

-Things have been "busy" these last few months.

 _-Girlfriend?_

-I wish.

 _-So what's up?_

-How've you been?

 _-Alright, I guess. School, part time job, can't complain._

-Same, except I got a new motorcycle.

 _-Seriously?_

-Cool, huh?

 _-What kind?_

-Import.

 _-She fast?_

-Like you wouldn't believe.

 _-What color is she?_

-Blue and pink.

 _-Pink?_

-She's used.

 _-Oh, I see._

Jack felt a little guilty talking about Arcee as if he owned her.

-Today's the six year anniversary.

 _-I know._

-Are you going to that thing in Central Park tonight?

 _-I live upstate now, remember?_

-Can't you just take the train like your parents?

 _-Like they'd let me. I asked if we could all go to pay our respects, but they don't want me anywhere near the city again. I guess I can't blame them._

-My Mom's the same way.

 _-Still sucks up here, nothing to do._

-Oh, boo-hoo. Try living in the fraggin' desert.

 _-XD_

Jack was about to respond with a quip but then he thought for a moment.

-Do you think about him at all?

 _-Who?_

-The Sad Man.

There was another delay in response.

 _-Sometimes._

-Who do you think he was?

 _-I don't know._

Jack tried to think of something else to say.

-Do you think he's still out there, in the alleys.

 _-Maybe. I hope he is._

Again, Jack took a moment to think. After a few seconds, he had a question he wanted to ask.

-If you could go back to the alleys and find him, would you?

Another pause, this one longer than the rest.

 _-Honestly? I don't know. I don't think I ever want to go back to that place._

Jack stopped for a moment to think about everything that happened.

-I'll never forget that day, no matter how much I want to.

 _-Me neither, Jack._

-But I wish I could thank him.

 _-So do I._

-You okay?

 _\- Are You?_

-Yeah.

 _-Me too._

Jack took one more moment to think.

-Signing off now.

 _-Alright. Hit me up soon._

-I will. Later.

 _-Later._

By the time he signed off, Jack already knew what he wanted to do. It wasn't a good idea, he knew that. His mother would skin him alive if she found out. If Arcee really _did_ know the truth, she would do to him what Airachnid wanted to do. But this was something he thought about for six years and now he had a way to do it. It would only be for a second, in and out. All he had to do was convince Ratchet without the others knowing. Arcee had patrol duty with Bumblebee tomorrow, that'd be his best bet.

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School, work, then it was off to base. But once again, it was a quiet ride. This time, Arcee was as silent as Jack was. Now that she knew what she knew, she found it difficult to talk without wanting to bring it up. Jack knew that she knew and was _waiting_ for her to bring it up. But she was waiting for him to speak first. It was a verbal standoff, pretty much.

"Hey, Jack?"

Jack was surprised that Arcee spoke first.

"Yeah, Arcee?"

Arcee didn't really have anything to say, but the silence wasn't comfortable. She wasn't going to bring up Billy Kincaid or the Sad Man.

"Arcee?"

Arcee tried to think of something to tell him. Then, she decided to say something honest.

"I've got your back. You know that, don't you?"

"I know. That's what partners do, isn't it?"

"I mean it, though. You and your Mom, I'd do anything to protect you."

"You don't have to tell me that. You've already shown me."

"I know. I just wanted to make sure you knew."

"I do, Arcee. And trust me, I'm grateful."

Jack ran his hand across the Autobot sigil on the gas tank.

"You're my best friend."

Jack felt her frame get a little warmer. He amused himself by wondering is she was blushing. Probably not, she most likely just felt warm from hearing that.

As they pulled into base, Jack ran up to the living area with Miko and Raf. He noticed Arcee watching him closely. Yep, she definitely knew. At some point, they were going to have a talk about the whole thing. Jack just hoped it wouldn't happen for a while.

"Arcee." Ratchet called. "Optimus wants you and Bumblebee out on patrol as soon as possible."

Even though Jack was already out of her sight, she was still looking at the area where he was.

"Arcee." Ratchet called louder.

"What?" She responded.

"Patrol duty, you and Bumblebee, ASAP."

"Right. Bee, with me."

 **"Gotcha."**

Raf walked up to the rails.

"Later, 'Bee." He called.

Bumblebee chirped back and waved at him. Meanwhile, Arcee walked up to Ratchet.

"Hey, Ratchet. Keep an eye on Jack for me?" She whispered.

Ratchet seemed surprised.

"Jack, what for?"

"Just...watch him, okay?"

"Uhm...Whatever you say, Arcee."

Arcee transformed along with Bumblebee and the two were gone. Miko ran up to rails to get her partner's attention.

"Yo, Bulk. You ready for some dune bashing?"

"Haha. You bet I do."

Bulkhead transformed and let Miko climb in the passenger seat. They cranked up the heavy metal and left for parts unknown, leaving Ratchet with Jack and Rafael. Jack was now sitting against the railings with Raf's computer. Ratchet could see that he was using a map application to get satellite views of some unknown location. This made him curious. Jack shut the laptop and walked over the Ratchet's console.

"Hey, Ratchet?"

"Yes, Jack?"

"Can I ask you a favor?"

"You can ask. Whether or not I say yes is a different story."

Good old Ratchet the grump.

"Can you open a ground bridge and send me to these coordinates." He said as he showed Ratchet his phone.

Ratchet examined the coordinates, figuring that this was what he was doing on Raf's computer.

"And why am I sending you to this location?"

"No reason." Jack lied.

Ratchet seemed skeptical.

"Jack, you realize that the ground bridge is essential to our missions."

"I know."

"It takes a large amount of energon every time I open a portal. And energon is not only a fuel source for our components, but for ourselves. Surely, you don't think the ground bridge should be used to send you somewhere for a short tour of the city?"

"No, that's not it at all, Ratchet."

"So why do you want to go to this 'Rat City' in New York?"

Jack didn't know how to answer that.

"This wouldn't have anything to do with those alleys where all those children's corpses were found?"

"What?" Jack said suddenly. "N-no, why would I go there?"

Jack took a quick glance at Rafael, who thankfully was too deep into his laptop to hear their conversation.

"You tell me? You've been there before, haven't you?"

Jack was like a deer in the headlights.

"How did you..."

"When you changed that channel yesterday, I sensed your heart rate go up, like you were panicked. After hearing what happened, I did some research on this 'Billy Kincaid' the news mentioned. Imagine my surprise when I saw the name Jackson Darby listed as one of the two children he had kidnapped."

Of course. Nothing ever got past Ratchet. If he saw all the Autobots gathered around something, he'd make it a point to know what was going on.

"Ratchet, I..."

"Jack, you're an adult, as far as I'm concerned. You certainly behave like one. Your past is your business to be told or be kept a secret. What concerns me is why you want to go back to Rat City where this child killer took you. And it better be good if you don't want me to inform Arcee _or_ your mother."

Jack knew that Ratchet wouldn't believe him if he told him the truth. So he told him a half truth.

"I want to pay my respects."

Ratchet seemed surprised to hear that.

"Me and that little girl...we weren't the first kids who ended up in those alleys, but we _were_ the only ones who got away. All the other kids...they weren't so lucky."

Ratchet's stern expression began to soften.

"Last night, they held a candlelight vigil for all 28 kids that died during that summer. I wanted to ask my Mom if we could go and ask you to send us there but..."

"But?"

"I was scared. When I saw what day it was, I just had flashbacks of that day and I didn't even want to leave the house."

"I'm guessing that's why you left early with Arcee?"

"It was...But now, I just want to light a candle for all the other kids who Billy Kincaid killed."

Jack ran back to the couch and grabbed his backpack. He opened it and pulled out a small, white candle and a black hoodie. He went back to show it to Ratchet.

"Candles are how humans remember those they have lost?" He asked.

"Yeah, it's how we show that we haven't forgotten them...and that we hope they're at peace. Please, Ratchet. I just wanna light a candle and say a prayer."

He felt bad for lying, since he wanted to do more than that. Ratchet pondered about what Jack was telling him, wrestling with what he should do. The medic shut his optics and sighed.

"15 minutes and then you head straight back to where I send you. 16 and I send Arcee _and_ Optimus out there looking for you."

Jack smiled at Ratchet. Deep down, he cared about humans, no matter how hard he pretended not to.

"Thanks, Ratchet."

"Don't mention it...to your mother, to Arcee, anyone. They will have my spark as a decorative piece if they found out."

Jack began putting on and zipping up the black hoodie he had.

"Don't worry. If they find out, I'm deader than you."

"As long as I get to see you go first."

Jack walked down to ground level while Ratchet entered the coordinates. He activated the ground bridge and waited for Jack to go through.

"15 minutes, Jack." He yelled as Jack stepped through the vortex.

Rafael walked over to the console.

"Where's Jack going?" He asked.

"Oh, just visiting some friends." He said as the vortex closed.

"Are you sure that was wise, old friend?"

Ratchet turned to see Optimus entering the area.

"Optimus."

"Rat City is not a safe place for a youngling like Jack, Billy Kincaid or not."

"Rat City?" Raf asked. "Why did Jack go to Rat City?"

"A question for when he returns, Rafael."

Optimus turned back to Ratchet.

"You know?" Ratchet asked.

"When our human companions first learned of our existence, I decided to learn as much as I could about them. So, I researched their history and what I learned about Jack was...troubling."

"That's putting it lightly."

"Indeed. But it is as you said. His past is not for us to know if he chooses not to tell us. But what concerns me are the details of what happened that night."

"What do you mean, Optimus?"

"Jackson had given a statement himself to the New York Police Department. He spoke of a being with...unusual abilities."

"Oh, you mean the glowing and the red cape. He was only a child. Scared children tend to see things that aren't really there."

"Yes, but does Jackson strike you as a person who cannot tell the difference between what is real and what is not, even at such a young age?"

Ratchet felt that Optimus had a good point. Jack was a sharp kid and June had said before that he always had been.

"I cannot help but wonder what it was that Jackson and Cyan Fitzgerald encountered that night in those alleys."

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From the GPS on his phone, Jack saw that the vacant alley he was in was about a block away from where he wanted to go. Pulling the hoodie of his jacket over his head, he began walking through Rat City. It didn't take long for him to come upon the alleys. He looked on from across the street and felt a chill up his spine as he remembered that night. Even during the day, the alleys looked eerie and dark. Jack couldn't help but feel something sinister residing there. He looked up and saw the chapel where he remembered seeing the sad man's cape. He crossed the street and came up to the alley. The entranced was decorated with candles, bouquets of flowers, roses, stuff animals, and photos of some of Billy Kincaid's victims.

They were all so young, smiling innocently, no idea of what kind of evil existed in the world. Jack reached down and picked up one of the photos. It was a young Latino boy, light hair with green eyes. He took one look at him and immediately thought of Rafael. A pain went through his heart at the mere thought of Raf being the clutches of that child killer. Jack shut his eyes tightly to force the image out of his head.

He put the photo back down and placed his candle beside it, lighting it with a disposable he had. Standing back up, Jack prayed silently for all 28 children that fell victim to sickness of a madman. He prayed for any victims that the police didn't know about, for any officers that were killed that day, for all the parents and siblings that were left to mourn their loved ones. He prayed for Cyan and her parents, for Rafael and Miko, and for his mother. He prayed to never lose them or be lost to them, so they would never feel that pain. With his final parting, he raised his head and walked into the alley, unknowing of the hell that he was entering. From above on the rooftop, a figure was watching him. He was a short man, a fat man, disgusting in more ways than one. His face was unusual, blue up to the edges, like a clown. He started cackling lowly to himself as he watched Jackson go deeper into the dark alley, which only got darker as the sun went down.

"Look at this, one of Billy's plaything's come back for more." He said as he started laughing again. "Looking for a party, kid? You've come to the right place. Shit's about to go down aaaany minute, now. And it's gonna be a **fffffuckin'** bloodbath."

Again, he kept on cackling, dancing on the rooftop like a lunatic.

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Jack was beginning to have second thoughts about being here. It wasn't the homeless he kept seeing that made him nervous, it was just the creeping feeling that wouldn't go away. Somehow, Jack knew that the dumped bodies weren't the only bad things that's happened in these alleys.

"You lost, young'n?"

Jack looked forward and saw a black man holding bottle in a brown paper bag.

"I'm just looking for my friend." He replied.

"Well, your friend ain't here unless he a bum like us." He said before taking a swig from his bottle. "Or a corpse."

"Shut up, Bobby." Another homeless man said.

This one was a white man, older by the looks of it.

"Kid, you really shouldn't be here. It ain't safe." He kindly said.

"Tried to tell'em, Gareb." Barry said. "But he's lookin' for his 'friend'."

"Yeah, well...I doubt you'll find him here." Gareb said. "If you did, he probably don't wanna be found."

"I just want to talk to him." Jack said.

"I'm tellin' you, kid, you _don't_ wanna be here. Bad things happen in these alleys."

"Believe me, I know."

"Ya' hear that, Gareb? The boy knows." Bobby said.

"You _don't_ know. You don't know half the shit that goes on down here." Gareb said grimly.

"Forget it, man. Kid don't wanna leave. Can't say we didn't warn'em."

Jack walked past the two, reconsidering what he was even doing there.

"You just remember that when they bring you back to mama wit'cho' head missin'!" Bobby called.

Jack got even further into the alleys and it felt like the sun had disappeared.

"They speak the truth, young one."

Jack looked to see another old man, but he didn't look like a vagrant. He wore a dirty black long coat and his beard was long and unkempt, but he carried himself like some sort of wise man.

"These alleys are plagued with darkness and death. This is not a place for one such as you."

"I'm looking for somebody."

"I can assure you, whatever it is you are looking for, you will not find it here."

"Do you know of a guy who wears a mask and a red cloak?"

The old man didn't react, not even a facial tic. That told Jackson enough.

"I need to see him."

He looked at Jack, observed him closely.

"Why?"

"To thank him. He saved my life."

The old man looked away.

"I see. That is all the more reason for you to leave."

"I want to see him."

"Billy Kincaid brought you here, you and the little girl, with intention to butcher you both like dogs."

Jack took a step back.

"You were rescued and returned to your families, never meant to come back. Now you foolishly come to these alleys, putting your very soul at risk, laying waste to what he has given you."

"You...you know me?"

"I was here the night that killer prowled these alleys with you and Cyan Fitzgerald in hand. If you truly wish to thank the one that saved you, turn around and go back from where you came. You do not belong here, Jackson Darby."

A sudden flashback came over Jack.

 _"You...don't...belong here."_

"I see old scars remain. Go home, Jackson. Be with your family. There is no reason to be in a place such as this."

Jack's expression must've been giving him away. He was tempted to do as the old man said. There was something dark about these alleys and Jack didn't know what it was. It felt more real than the Decepticons, even Airachnid. But for some reason, Jack stayed.

"Please, just let me see him."

The old man observed Jackson again.

"Very well. But whatever expectations you've brought with you to this place, let them go now. I promise you that he is not what you remember."

The old man led Jack further into the alley. He checked his phone and saw that twenty minutes had already gone by. No doubt, he was in for it when he got home.

"Here."

Jack stopped and saw that they had come to a dead end. There was trash and rubble piled higher than anywhere else in the alleys.

"Up there."

Jack looked up at the archway of some metal gate that lead to nowhere. Sitting at the top with his back turned was the red cloak he remembered from that night. He could see it more clearly now, saw that it looked redder than he remembered, like blood. Just as it did six years ago, the cloak moved as if it had a mind of its own.

"Spawn." The old man called.

'Spawn?" Jack thought.

"What the hell do you want, old man?" He answered back harshly.

This was not the same gentle tone he remembered from back then.

"You have a visitor."

"A visitor?" He said. "Who in the right mind would come to see me?"

He turned to look at the old man and stopped when he saw Jack. His eyes were glowing again and he saw that same vicious look as when he began strangling Billy Kincaid. He narrowed his eyes at Jack, as if he didn't recognize him.

"Who the hell is this?"

"Look closer." The old man said.

Spawn, as the old man called him, studied Jack just as the old man did.

"You." He said with recognition.

His eyes went narrow again and he turned his back to Jackson.

"What the hell are you doing here?"

"Um...I..."

"Spit it out." He demanded.

"I came to find you...to thank you"

"Well, you've thanked me. Now, get the hell out of here."

Jack couldn't believe what he had just heard.

"You do _know_ me, don't you."

"I remember you, boy. And if I'd known that you'd be stupid enough to come back here, I would've let you die back then."

This couldn't be the same person who saved him.

"Get out of here, now, while your legs can still carry you."

Jack stared up that this "Spawn" person, anger filling his heart. He felt the old man's hand on his shoulder.

"I told you to abandon your expectations of the hero from your childhood. There are no heroes in this place. Come now, you need to leave."

Jack jerked himself away the old man to confront Spawn.

"Why did you save me back then?"

"Because I felt sorry for you, boy. I won't make that mistake again."

"And Cyan?"

Jack felt something stir all of a sudden, a dark pulse coming from Spawn.

"The same reason. I should've just taken her and let fat boy have his way with you. If you don't leave here now, I'll feed you to one of those bums and let them fuck every hole you have."

"It's time to go, Jackson." The old man warned.

But Jack didn't leave.

"What are you? Are you even human?"

Spawn suddenly jumped down in front of Jack.

"You ask too many question!" Spawn angrily answered.

He stood tall before Jackson, casting a dark shadow over him. His cape came to life, opening and expanding. Jack saw his body clearly now. No parts of his flesh was exposed. He was covered in a black suit with a white M shape across his entire torso. He donned red gauntlets with spikes on them on each arm, his left bicep banded and spiked as well. A red pack wrapped around his right thigh and guarding his right shin was an oversized guard that was covered in spikes. His foot barely came out of the bottom of it. On the other leg, spike bands wrapped his ankle and upper half of his shin. And then there were the chains. Like the cloak, they too moved as if they were alive, long enough to wrap any human up from head to toe. They connected to the sides of a metal skull pendant that rested in the center of his waist. At his shoulders, connecting to his cloak were another pair of skulls that were linked with a smaller chain.

If Spawn was trying to intimidate Jack, he was succeeding. Even Arcee would take a few steps back from this being approaching.

"You want to know what I am, boy?" He said as he grabbed at the neck of his mask. "Let me show you what I really am."

He lifted the mask up, just enough to show a little flesh. But from what Jack saw, it didn't look like normal flesh. It looked...decayed.

"That's enough, Spawn!" The old man shouted.

Spawn stopped and let his mask go, his cloak and chains returning to shroud him.

"You heard the old man, there's nothing for you here. If you value your life, love the ones who love you, never come back here."

He turned away from Jack and jumped back up on the archway where he was before. Jack looked up at his savior, disappointment so very visible. How was this the same gentle being that sent him and Cyan off to their families? Jack turned away and began to leave, not caring about the trouble he was in when he returned home.

Cogliostro kept watch until the boy was gone, then looked back up at Spawn who was huddled over on his archway.

"Are you proud of yourself, Hellspawn?"

"I got the kid to leave, didn't I?"

"Yes...But to push him away so fiercely, threatening to expose yourself..."

"He shouldn't have been here!" Spawn shouted. "This place would've eaten him alive...Lots of people died here since I woke up in these alleys, some of them without reason. But I've yet to let a child die in this place."

"You cannot fight the inevitable, Spawn. The innocent are always the first blood to be shed."

"Not him...Not that one."

"So...You see it as well."

Spawn looked back at Cogliostro.

"What are you talking about?"

"The boy is not like others his age, not like any human being. He has a light inside of him, a pure light that makes him stronger than most."

Spawn bowed his head.

"Yes...I saw it."

"He cannot be allowed to come back here where death visits almost daily. I fear that he may attract the attention of Malebolgia...or even Heaven. Neither side would consider his age, they are so desperate to win. This is _not_ his war to fight."

"No, old man, it isn't."

A silence came over the Hellspawn and former Hellspawn. But that silence was interrupted by the sound of dual automatic rifle fire.

"What now?!" Spawn angrily said as he climbed the firescapes to make it to where the sounds were coming from.

Cogliostro watched as Spawn disappeared, knowing that lives have already been snatched away.

"As I've said, death visits often." He said, praying that Jackson was not among those that were already killed.

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Jack was pulled underneath a wooden barrier over a doorway to an abandoned building. Gareb had been the one to grab him, while Bobby hid further in the same room. Jack peaked in between the wood panels to see a man standing at the entrance of the alleys, armed with two large assault rifles, still smoking from his earlier onslaught. As he moved closer, Jack could see his face. He was a large black man wearing a load bearing vest and military pants. His face was painted with a white skull, giving him a deathly appearance. He slung one of his rifles over his shoulder and began searching the alleys.

"Alright, now that I have everybody's attention..." He calmly said. "Let's get this over with real quick."

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 **Again, I'm late with the update. Also, this isn't Old Nightmare, so I'll explain. I got halfway through the next chapter of Old Nightmare when this idea came to me. Now, I have a bad habit of having ideas and forgetting them once I have time to work of them, so I decided to at least get started on this. But once I did, I couldn't stop. I just kept on writing until I was finished. And here were are. Now, I'm not about to take on three stories at once. No, I'm not putting Old Nightmare or A Shard of Glass on hiatus. This story is actually sort of a test story. I originally intended to just leave it on my computer until I knew what I wanted to do with it, but you guys deserve something for putting up with my unreliable schedule. This will be the chapter of this story for the foreseeable future. I won't continue it until after I finish both ASOG and Old Nightmare and only if I figure out where to go with the story, because right now, I'm writing blind.**  
 **This is another crossover fic. Like Old Nightmare, it's not listed as a crossover because I like leaving that up for a twist for you guys. I know that's going to get old soon and when it does, I'll have them properly labeled. If you're unfamiliar with the names I've mentioned and characters I've described, it's Todd McFarlane's Spawn. I've only found one crossover fic and it was only a single short chapter.**  
 **First thing, I'm sticking to the old "Jack has a secret." story line that so many others, including myself, seem to really enjoy. But more importantly, I'm way behind on my Spawn lore. The last issue I read was way back in the eight grade and I don't even know if the comic is still going. I only recently found out that Angela is with Marvel now. When I do return to this story, most of it is going to based around the HBO series with elements of the comic in it. Nothing from the movie will make it in this story because even my nostalgia couldn't save that mess.**  
 **I hope you guys enjoy this story and it holds you over until the next chapter of Old Nightmare which I'll get up as soon as possible. I will come back to this one day, but that won't be for a while. Thanks for putting up with me. Laters.**


	2. Chapter 2

"Alright, now that I have everybody's attention..." He calmly said. "Let's get this over with real quick."

Jack and Gareb stayed just in the darkness of the doorway to be able to see this unknown, skull faced, shooter while still remaining hidden. It was obvious to Jack that he was either military or ex-military and considering the way he was able to fire an assault rifles in each hand, he was also very strong. As he began to move deeper into the alley, Jack could almost feel the murderous intent that came off of him. It was only now that Jack saw just how many people had been caught in his gunfire. All of them were dead, randomly killed for no reason other than to tell everyone that he was there. This was was a cold-hearted killer from what Jack could see.

"There were weapons fired in this alley. They look like this." He said. "One was a shoulder fired missile. It makes a big noise. I'm sure you would remember it."

Within five sentences, Jack became more intimidated by this man than Silas had ever made him. He walked up to the only one of his unfortunate victims who was still alive. He had been hit in the back and was unable to move. Jack could see that he was a very unkempt vagrant, teeth missing and wearing tattered clothing. The skull faced soldier stood above him with his rifle resting against his shoulder.

"Tell me where they are." He said as he began kicking the poor man in his side. "Or I'll put you worthless pieces of shit out of your misery."

The vagrant was barely able to mumble out his response with little coherency.

"I-I don'know." He muttered almost too low for Jack to hear him.

"I think you're a smart old fart."

The soldier lowered his weapon at the vagrant and pressed the barrel against his temple.

"Now let's just see how high that IQ of yours is."

Panic began to rise in the homeless old man.

"No...no...no." He was able to mutter a little louder.

"Tell me where the guns are." The man ordered.

"I don't know." The man said more clearly this time in a pleading tone. He pointed further down the alley. "Maybe Al..."

"Al?" Jack whispered to himself.

"Uh, Al?" The soldier asked. "Oh, is Al the guy who knows things around here? Okay, let's go talk to Al."

He began dragging the vagrant behind him by the collar of his shirt, the poor man mumbling frightened words behind him.

"Hey." The soldier said. "You gonna have to speak up if you wanna be heard."

Little did the vagrant, the soldier, or Jack know, they were being watched. Spawn was higher up somewhere, listening in on the whole thing. He wanted to make sure that whatever was going on, Jack was out of the alleys. But the moment he saw this ex-soldier with a skull painted on his face, familiarity began to stir inside of him.

 _You're gonna have to speak up if you wanna be heard._

Al heard him say that and a memory from his fragmented past came back to him.

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 _Uganda, 20 years ago._

 _Al stood by as his partner crouched over the child soldier he had just shot down who was still clinging to life. He was choking on his words and his blood, speaking in a language Al couldn't understand. From the way he was crying, he could tell that he was pleading for his life. Al had already been accustomed to the horrors of combat, but this was new to him. He looked over to another child soldier that was already dead by one of their bullets._

 _'Jesus, he's just a kid.' Al thought. 'Never thought this job would come to this.'_

 _His partner's attitude couldn't have been more opposite. He was amused by the whole thing, including the child's begging._

 _"Ah, what?" He mocked. "You gonna have to speak up kid, if you wanna be heard."_

 _He the stood up and aimed his rifle at the young boy, who was probably forced to fight in this conflict against his will, and pulled the trigger. Blood splattered onto his chin and he looked to Al with enjoyment._

 _"It's not just a job, it's an adventure." He said._

 _Al looked off at somewhere else, taking a drag from his cigarette and acted as if he was unaffected. But when he looked on to the homes and bodies that were burning before him, all he could think of was the hell that waited for him when he died for the things he had done._

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Something was clicking inside of Spawn's memories that had been altered and tampered with by Malebolgia. But even among the false memories of Wanda's and Terry's betrayal, he knew that this one was real. He knew this man, but he couldn't remember where he knew him. As the ex-soldier dragged away Amos, one of the less all together in the head bums in this hell hole, Spawn kept close watch over the skull faced intruder of his alleys.

"Oh, Al?" He called calmly.

Jack watched hopelessly as the vagrant was left at the mercy of this killer and was tempted to do something. But what could he do? He was just a kid, a Prime, but still a kid. If only Optimus was there, he'd save the poor old guy. Jack didn't even entertain the thought of Spawn coming to his rescue. He had already lost faith in him after the conversation they had.

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Ratchet told him fifteen minutes. It had already been an hour and Arcee would be back any minute from patrol. The medic cursed himself for losing track of time. When he remembered that Jack was still out, he said to himself that Jack was a responsible kid and could take care of himself. That was, until he remembered where he had gone and everything he had learned the previous day. Now, he was getting worried. Jack was not answering his phone and if he didn't come back soon, he was going to have to tell Optimus, Arcee, and June. The latter of the two would have his spark removed once they found out that he let Jack go to such a dangerous place. Finally getting fed up, Ratchet re-entered the coordinates to where he had sent Jack.

"Rafael, I want you to man the ground bridge and wait for my call to bring me back."

Rafael put his laptop down and walked over to the rails.

"Where are you going, Ratchet?"

"I'm going to go get Jack."

Rafael looked worried.

"Is he in trouble?"

"I don't think so, but he's taking his sweet time and I don't need June Darby disassembling me while Arcee holds me down. So, take control of the ground bridge and be alert. I shouldn't be long."

Rafael nodded his head and went over to the human console of the ground bridge controls.

"Hey, Ratchet?" Raf asked.

"Yes, Rafael?"

"Was Jack really one of the kids that got kidnapped by Billy Kincaid?"

Ratchet didn't know why he was surprised. Raf would've made the connection the moment he found out that Jack had gone to Rat City where the victims bodies were found.

"Yes, he was, Rafael. But that...so called human being is gone now and he isn't terrorizing anymore children wherever he is. Jack just wanted to pay respects to his victims. But he's taking too long for my comfort and I just want to bring him home. I don't believe he's in any danger, though. Regardless, don't tell Arcee or his mother about this."

"I won't, Ratchet. Just make sure he's okay. I'll stay by the controls and wait for you."

"Thank you, Raf."

Rafael opened a ground bridge, allowing Ratchet to drive through in his alt form. Raf didn't question why Jack never told them about this whole thing. It wasn't something anyone would want to talk about. He just hoped that Jack was alright. The alleys where he and Cyan Fitzgerald were rescued was a place where a lot of bad things had happened before that night. When he researched the details of the kidnapping, he found out just how many murders happened there...and the brutality of every one. Someone or something had killed those mobsters, reporters, and homeless with such barbarity, Raf wondered if whoever was behind was even human at all. After everything he had come to learn since meeting the Autobots, he wasn't sure what was possible in the realm of reality anymore.

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Jack's fist was balled so tight, if he hadn't kept his nails clipped, he would've been digging them into his palm. He just couldn't stand what was happening in front of him. Amos was strung up now by the soldier against a panel of wood. Bound by rope, he was crucified upside down and being beaten mercilessly by his interrogator. The poor man kept saying that he didn't know anything about any guns, but the soldier wouldn't listen. Every blow was fleshy and painful. Jack knew he saw a tooth fly out of his mouth from the last closed fist that connected to his face.

Jack couldn't bear it anymore and looked away. Gareb comforted him by placing his hand on his shoulder. The soldier then smashed an empty glass bottle against his face, leaving him with makeshift cutting instrument.

"Look at that, broken glass." He said as he twirled the face shredder in a threatening manner. "Good as a scalpel."

Knowing that the torture was only going to get worse, Amos grew more desperate to convince the soldier that he had no idea what he was talking about.

"I..I don't...I don't."

The soldier didn't like that answer and slipped the glass into the vagrant's flesh, making him to cry in excruciating pain.

"The guns, our guns, Amos." The soldier impatiently said. "It's not like you're protecting the family jewels. But hey, I can cut those off too."

Take away the patience and faux pleasantness of Airachnid and you had this psycho. Jack wasn't sure if the spider-femme would've taken a liking to him or saw good sport in hunting him. The teen now regretted ever coming to these alleys. His savior turned out to be nothing like he remembered and now, he was forced to watch an innocent old man be beaten to death by some gun-toting sociopath. Jack wished that he had even a fraction of the power the Autobots had so he could save Amos. He could've been a drunk or an addict for all Jack knew, but he didn't deserve this.

Out of nowhere, Spawn descended from above and landed behind the two. Jack was surprised to see the red cloak in front of him, having already decided that Spawn didn't give a frag about anything or anyone. Even now, he wasn't convinced that he was actually here to save Amos.

"Well, what have we here?" The soldier asked as he looked behind him.

He threw the bottle away and drew one of the rifles from his shoulder.

"Al?" Amos weakly said. "Al?"

'His name is Al?' Jack thought. 'I thought his name was Spawn?'

"Are you Al?" The soldier asked skeptically and mockingly before he started to laugh. "What is this, Gay Pride Day or somethin'? Hey, I like the mask, but I think the cape is a little much."

The soldier followed the insult by spitting a loogie right in Spawn, or Al's, face. He didn't seem to appreciate that. Spawn began to tower over the soldier, somehow, spreading his cloak and his chains, his body still hidden in darkness. The soldier let his battle cry be heard and he opened fire on Spawn. The alleys were lit up with muzzle flashes and echoed with gunfire and ricochets. Suddenly, it was six years ago all over again, with Jack left speechless by what this being could do. The bullets didn't seem to affect him in the slightest. In fact, the few that actually hit him looked as if they disappeared in the blackness that obscured him within his cloak.

Spawn's cape snaked around the soldier's ankle while his chain wrapped around his rifle and pushed it away. He pulled the soldier's ankle forward, causing his to lose his footing and fall on his back.

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 _Al's partner, now wearing a karate gi, hit the mat hard as his sparring partner stood straight. He sat up and looked at Al in bewilderment._

 _"How the hell did you do that?" He asked._

 _"Stand up and I'll show you?" Al replied._

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Another memory, Spawn realized. The more he fought this man, the more came back to him. The soldier got up quickly, now missing one of his rifles, and rushed to right hook Spawn square in his face.

"Son of a bitch!" The soldier said.

Spawn looked like he didn't even feel the hit.

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 _"Ha!" Al's partner cried as he slammed his elbow into his face and knocked him off his feet._

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It was as if the punch had knocked some memories back into place and now that he was standing face to face with him, Spawn could see him more clearly. He grabbed the soldier by the throat, keeping his grip tight and choking the soldier as he examined him closely. Behind the painted skull, he could see his face.

"It's you." He said as he lifted him off his feet. "Chapel."

"Chapel." Jack said, now having a name to go with the face. Somehow, Spawn knew this guy.

"I remember you." He said.

Spawn's cape came to life and wrapped around his head. Suddenly, the cape took him from Spawn's grip and threw him head first into the boarded doorway where Jack, Gareb, and Bobby were hiding. They all moved out the way as Chapel smashed through the boards and into the building. Jack watched from the shadows as the silhouette of Spawn, and his glowing eyes, walked up to the door with Chapel's weapon in hand. Without any effort at all, Spawn gripped the barrel of the rifle and broke it off like it was made of cheap plastic. Chapel was still down from being thrown through the doorway while Spawn turned away to something else. Gareb grabbed Jack and they left the building along with Bobby.

"Go, kid." Gareb said.

But Jack didn't forget about Amos, who was still strung up on the wooden panel. When he looked back, he saw Spawn ripping the binds that held him in place. When he fell to the floor, Gareb and Bobby rushed to get the beaten man somewhere safe.

"It's okay, Amos." Gareb said. "I gotcha'."

Gareb looked to Jack, signalling him to take this chance to leave. Knowing that Amos was safe and that Spawn would probably deal with Chapel, Jack saw no reason to stay. But just as he was about to run away, he heard the sound of a weapon being cocked back. Now, he knew that Chapel wasn't aiming at him, but he wasn't about to be running out in the open while a machine gun was going off. His mother would kill him if he ended up getting hit with a stray bullet. So Jack hid behind a partially torn down wall and waited for the shooting to start. Once it stopped, he was going to book it out of there.

Chapel crept out from the darkness of the empty building with his rifle/grenade launcher drawn. But to his and Jack's utter shock, Spawn disappeared into thin air.

"What the fuck?" Chapel muttered to himself.

Jack then heard something echoing throughout the alley, coming from everywhere and nowhere at the same time. It was almost like the voice that was yelling to kill from six years ago.

 _"jess chapelchapelchapel...from Joliet, Illinois."_ The voice said.

"Say what?" Chapel responded, nervousness beginning to set in.

"Jess Chapel." Spawns voice, now clearer, echoed. "From Joliet, Illinois. That's where the state prison is...where you were born."

 _"jess chapelchapelchapel"_ The faint voiced echoed again.

"Who the fuck are you?" He demanded to know.

There was a silence in the alley and Jack was still afraid to run for it, knowing the shooting was going to start any minute. Chapel suddenly saw a pair of glowing eyes in appear in the shadows.

"Your worst fucking nightmare." Spawn answered his question.

Chapel backed away slowly, lifting his rifle to aim, letting the shadows partially hide him. Then he started shooting. Jack ducked behind the wall and covered his ears as bullets ricocheted off of brick walls and metal dumpsters. Chapel didn't manage to hit anything worth hitting. Realizing that his target had disappeared again, he gripped his weapon tightly. He was afraid now. He had no idea what the hell he was dealing with. But there was only one person who knew where he was from and where he was born.

"Say it." Spawn ordered.

Chapel didn't want to say, to even entertain the thought.

"Al?"

"Yeah." Spawn, still nowhere to be seen, said. "We know each other real well. I know where you buried that girl in Guatemala."

Chapel heard something moving above him, but looked to see nothing there.

"I even know about that singer in Rio, Don Juan of killers, you said."

No, it couldn't be. The only person who knew any of that had been dead for years. Chapel watched him burn alive.

"You're not him." Chapel muttered just loud enough for Jack to hear. "YOU'RE NOT HIM!" He yelled loud enough for the whole alley to hear.

"Why don't you tell me who I am?" Spawn replied calmly, yet threateningly. "Tell me. **Tell me who I am!** "

Chapel went back to the day he saw Al last, when he walked up to him, armed with a flamethrower. He remembered how he pointed the weapon at his partner, friend, brother in arms, and set him aflame.

"Simmons?"

Al Simmons, that was his name.

"I want you to feel what it's like, trapped in a box, no light, no air, suffocating in the darkness, and left to rot!" Spawn's voice was heard from above.

Chapel screamed in panic and fired off a grenade round at the tallest building in the alley where the voice was coming from. Jack saw Spawn falling amidst the rumble and get buried beneath it when it all landed. Even after what he had said to him, Jack hoped that he wasn't dead. But if what he had just heard was true, he was dead before either he or Chapel even got there. Chapel walked up the pile of rumble in a state of shock. Leaning against a stone wall, he reached into the pocket of his vest and pulled out a loose cigarette. Both his hands were shaking as he lit it. He took one long drag and let himself slide into a crouch. He looked on at the rumble, still unnerved by what he had just witnessed.

"Jesus Christ." He said, the night already taking a toll on him.

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Ratchet was kicking himself right now. True, he wasn't suited for field work so he never had a reason to venture outside of the base and into human society. But his refusal to even become acquainted with the cities of this planet had left him with a lousy sense of direction. He was only a block or two away from where Jackson had asked to be sent, but he couldn't find the alleys. It was beginning to seem like he would have no other choice but to ask Rafael for help, which wouldn't normally be a problem. But he wasn't sure if Arcee had returned to base and he didn't want her to hear him calling for help to look for her partner.

But the more he drove around the city, the more he was beginning to worry about Jack. This place was a slum, a ghetto, as humans would call it. The buildings were run down, people lied passed out on the sidewalks, he saw women walking around barely wearing anything and looking sickly, and femmes that were clearly not women, but girls around Miko's age, doing the same. And it seemed that every five minutes, Ratchet saw law enforcement somewhere in the area. Why in the world did he let Jack come to this place alone? Ratchet needed to find him quickly. He was not safe in this neighborhood. As if Ratchet wasn't worried enough, he stopped when he heard an explosion erupt from somewhere behind him. From his mirrors, he could see the smoking rising from a building in the distance. Ratchet had no idea if Jackson was anywhere near the explosion, but he wasn't taking any chances. He turned his ambulance around and headed for the sight of the explosion. He prayed to Primus that if Jackson was there, he was unharmed. This city tried to claim him once before. It will not have a second chance.

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"No one could survive that! C'mon!" Bobby yelled.

"Al!" Gareb called. "Can you hear me? C'mon, Al?!"

"What'chu doin'?! He's dead! The whole fuckin' buildin' fell on'em!" Bobby replied.

"Help me get this rubble of him!" Gareb yelled back.

They were both shouting over each other as they dug through the rubble he was buried under. Jack still hadn't left the alleys, not wanting to leave Spawn buried. He ran up to the rubble and began helping Bobby and Gareb try to dig him out. A shadow cast over them and they saw Chapel standing over the whole thing. But he looked terrified at the rubble.

"Oh, shit. Oh, shit." He said.

Jack looked up at the building opposite him and saw Spawn standing in an opening, still hidden by shadows. Gareb and Bobby quickly got out the way of whatever was about to happen. Jack slowly moved away from the rubble, but watched closely.

"I trusted you with my life...a hundred times." He said. "We were partners, Jess, brothers."

Chains shot from the opening and wrapped around Chapel's neck and torso. The soldier struggled with them as Spawn lifted him off the ground, strangling him as he did.

"Come on, Jess. Work the scenario...Just like the old days."

Chapel was then thrown into a pile of trash, knocking some wind out of him. Then, Spawn's cape wrapped around his whole head, cutting off his air. Jack could hear him gasping and choking.

"Show me why you did it!" Spawn commanded.

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 _Al was doing routine surveillance on the the training facility, an exercise to keep his skills sharp. He was observing the facility through the lens of a camera. Suddenly, a hand obscured his view._

 _"You take off the lens cap?" A voice said._

 _Al saw a younger, black man, roughly his size standing over him, wearing the same trainee uniform he wore. He must've been new, since his hair was still buzzed close. Al's was as well, but he had been around long enough to be allowed to don his recognizable red bandanna over his head._

 _"Wynn sent me to find you?" He said. "Said you were gonna be my 'albatross'."_

 _"I think he called it, partner." Al responded._

 _"So, you're the one who took a bullet for a Liberal. I guess that's dedication, alright."_

 _"The President's a President." He replied._

 _"Is that right? In covert ops, maybe not always."_

 _He walked away, chuckling to himself._

 _"What's so funny?" Al asked._

 _"I'm here because I killed the fuckin' assassin, ya'know, the one_ you _let get way."_

 _He started laughing again, much louder this time, almost mockingly._

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Spawn slammed Chapel's shrouded head into a brick wall with his cape. When he released him, he began coughing blood and choking to get air back into his lungs.

"You were the only one I let in. I trusted you."

Spawn grabbed Chapel by the top of his hand and punched him dead in the face, sending him into another pile of trash.

"Why, Jess? Why?!"

Chapel collected himself to give Spawn his answer.

""You stupid son of a bitch." He said as he grabbed a sharp piece of scrap metal that was as big as a machete. "You were always the target."

He began gripping the metal so hard, he was cutting into his own hand.

"From the day we met, my job was to whack you when the time came."

Chapel cried out as he began slashing at Spawn's torso, from shoulder to naval, ripping him open with the large piece of jagged metal. But Spawn stood perfectly still as Chapel cut deep into him. And with every gash and slash, Jack saw glowing, green ooze bleed from Spawn's body. It was bright enough to light the alleys with it's color and the sight of it filled Jack with horror. He really wasn't human at all, was he? Chapel kept on cutting until he was too worn out to continue. Spawn didn't so much as flinch. He didn't feel a thing. Instead, he grabbed Chapel by the hand that held the metal and gripped it hard enough to push it into his palm. Chapel had to forcefully pull it from his hand and when he did, he saw the white of his bones.

"Who gave the order?!" Spawn yelled. "Who was it?!"

"It was Wynn!" Chapel yelled back. "He gave me the order...But I wanted to do it."

"Wynn." Spawn said as if surprised.

Chapel managed a weak chuckle.

"I guess, I won. I won." He said.

Spawn responded to him by grabbing his good hand and forcing it back to Chapel's chest. The soldier yelled in pain. Jack figured that he was probably close to breaking it. Spawn then brought his claw to his mask. Jack was not prepared for what he saw next.

Spawn ripped his mask away, showing Chapel and Jack what he was. Chapel was left speechless while Jack was left horrified. He _was_ dead. He was a corpse. His face was was burnt and decomposed, his teeth and gums exposed.

"Know me." He said.

Spawn then forcefully brought Chapel's hand to his face.

"Jesus Christ." Chapel said in fear.

As he brought his hand closer, Chapel tried to pull it back.

"No! You're Not Him!" He yelled.

His fingers were pushed against Spawn's decaying face. The tips sunk right into the flesh. Maggots began crawling out of his face and onto Chapel's fingers.

"Touch it. It's real. Feel it. You made it."

Chapel screamed bloody horror one after the other, loud enough for every vagrant to hear.

"No, you can't be alive." Chapel said.

Spawn pushed Chapel's his hand away, letting his mask form over his face.

"I'm not, Jess."

He then held Chapel up off the ground, his arms over his head. Spawn's other claw began to claw the same color as his eyes.

"You took everything from me." He said.

Spawn grabbed Chapel by the face, the glow growing brighter. Jack didn't know what he was doing, nor did he want to know. It was fear that was holding Jackson in place, terror that kept him from running.

In the grip of Spawn's claw, Chapel saw images of a younger Al Simmons, exchanging wedding bands with Wanda Blake, who he had made a widow when he killed Al. He saw the bands inscribed with the words "Al and Wanda Forever". He saw a birthday where Al had gotten Wanda a small puppy, the moment they sealed their union with a kiss. He knew what Al was doing. He was showing Chapel what he had taken from him.

Spawn dropped Chapel, only to grab him again and place another spell on him. Chapel then saw himself holding the flamethrower, setting his partner on fire and watching him burn to death. He felt the heat of the flames, the burning of his own flesh, the struggle to breath for life. He felt the confusion, the fear of death, the betrayal of a brother. He saw Al crawling forward towards a pair of boots in front of him.

 _"Hey, you gonna have to speak up, Al, if you wanna be heard."_ He heard his own voice say.

Then he felt the flames eat what remained of him as he saw himself standing among the fire. His painted skull had taken a demonic appearance and he heard the sounds of twisted, high pitch laughter. The skull then changed into the sight of some kind of demonic clown laughing his ass off at him. This is what Al saw before he died, what he felt. This is what Chapel had done to him.

Chapel was released and was brought back to the present by the sounds of his own heavy breathing.

"Oh, God. Simmons." He said.

His left eye was as brown as the day he was born, but his right eye was now as white as a corpse, pupil and iris. Chapel could still see out of it, but he knew that something was wrong. He didn't care. He picked up his rifle, which was within his reach. He began cynically chuckling again and shoved the barrel into his mouth. But when he pulled the trigger, all he heard was a click.

"Kill me. Kill me! Finish it!...There's no comin' back." He pleaded.

But Spawn wasn't going to let him off the hook that easy. His mercy had died with Al Simmons.

"No...I'm gonna let you live...Longer than you want to."

Chapel was now beaten.

"No." He sobbed. "No."

He got up to leave the alleys only to trip over himself.

"You can't do this to me." He began.

As he got back up and walked out of the alleys, he began rambling like a madman.

"I killed him. I killed him-he-came-back from the dead no one can come back from the dead no one can come back but...he did..."

Jack watched as the broken soldier disappeared from the alleys. His whole world had been shifted. Jack had met aliens, gotten stuck in the shadowzone with an undead Decepticon, gotten chased through the woods by a species hunting spider...None of it could've have prepared him for this. What he had just witnessed, no man would believe him. He had no idea who Spawn, or Al Simmons, really was. And in truth, he didn't want to...not anymore. He should've just stayed away. He should've never come back to these alleys. Even though he was still grateful to Spawn for saving him, he saw a darkness in him the likes of which he had never seen before.

Spawn turned his attention to Jackson, taking notice of him for the first time since Chapel showed up.

"I told you, kid, there's nothing here for someone like you. All there is...is death and blood."

Jack didn't know what to say, but he understood. From the moment he stepped into these alleys, he felt something dark. It didn't come from Spawn, it came from the alleys themselves. Spawn wasn't trying to hurt him, he was trying to warn him. It was like Gareb said, bad things happen here.

"Go home, Jackson, and never come here again."

Jackson watched as Spawn disappeared into darkness above him. He saw that the moon was finally able to send some light down into the alleys, but Spawn was nowhere to be found. Jackson looked at his phone and realized that he had been gone for two hours. Everyone was going to be furious with him when he got home, but he didn't care. He just wanted to get out of these alley's and never see this place again. So, he left. He didn't even spare a single glance back at this corner of darkness hidden in Rat City.

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Jack stepped out from the alleys and into the outside world. Even Rat City seemed brighter than where he'd just come from. But it had also started raining, so Jack put his hood up. He took a deep breath, bracing himself for what would come of calling Ratchet to bridge him back. But as he was about to send the call, he heard someone talking to himself next to him. He looked to his side and was shocked to see Jess Chapel, barely sitting up against the wall. He looked even worse outside of the alleys. The rain was washing away the skull on his face, showing all the bruises and cuts given to him by Spawn. He was missing some teeth, blood still coming from his mouth and head. His right eye, which was now white for some reason, was moving around frantically on its own. Jack could see that whatever Spawn had done to him, it was causing him to lose his mind.

For some reason, Jack felt pity for this man. If what he had heard from Spawn was true and Chapel had really done all the things he said, on top of what he had done to Amos and all the people he killed tonight, Chapel deserved to die. But whatever this was, Jack didn't feel he deserved it, to be trapped in some nightmare that Spawn had put him in. Against his better judgement, his own thoughts telling him not to, Jack approached Chapel and knelt in front of him. The moment he did, Chapel took notice instantly.

He stared at Jackson desperately, as if trying to figure out what he was. Jack didn't even know what he thought he could do. The guy probably didn't even know where he was right now. Jack's mere presence seemed to make Chapel more afraid. But then he grabbed him. Jacked pulled back in reaction, ready to panic and scream for help.

" _Help me_." Chapel pleaded. " _Please, make them stop_."

Jack could see the desperateness in his one good eye.

"I-I don't know what..."

" _I'm sorry...I'm sorry...Tell them, I'm sorry. Tell them that I..."_ He was sobbing now, rambling and not making any sense.

Just over an hour ago, this man was holding an alley hostage and interrogating a homeless person by nearly beating him to death. Now, he was begging Jack to tell someone he didn't know that he was sorry.

" _Please...You're good...Don't let them take me_."

Jack wanted to help this man, even after everything he'd done. He knew that's what Optimus would do. But he didn't what he _could_ do. How do you undo a spell of madness?

"Jackson."

Jack turned around to see an ambulance behind him, Ratchet. He had come looking for him to take him home. He looked back at the terrified Chapel and decided that there was nothing he could do.

"I have to go now." Jack said.

Chapel tried to keep Jack from leaving.

" _No, don't leave_."

"I'm sorry."

" _Please, don't leave me_." He cried. " _Don't leave me with them. Don't leave me with them_."

"I'm sorry." Jack said in sadness.

" _Don't...Don't, please_." He called as Jack got into the ambulance.

Ratchet drove away with Jack, leaving Chapel alone with his demons. As they drove off, the same clown from earlier was watching from across the street. Only, he wasn't looking as thrilled as before.

"I don't like that kid." He said to himself. "Somethin' ain't right about the little do-gooder."

Clown looked at Chapel, who was beginning to descend back into madness.

"You saw somethin' too, didn't you, killer?" He said. "Hm...The boss needs to hear about this. Kid could be a problem for our side."

As Ratchet drove to the nearest point of isolation for a bridge, Jack settled in his seat as everything he had just witnessed set in. He found out that the hero from his youth was some kind of undead and vengeful entity that had a lot of hatred in his heart, if he even had a heart in that decaying body of his. He witnessed the death of at least five innocent people and the torture of a sixth. He also witnessed a stone killer be broken down and driven insane by pure horror and that same stone killer reduced to a pleading child, begging Jack for his help, which Jack could not provide. To say that Jack was frustrated would be an understatement.

"I told you, fifteen minutes, Jack?" Ratchet scolded.

"I know...I'm sorry." Jack said without any protest.

"And who was that man were talking to? He looked like a crazy person."

"He was just...He was just some homeless man, Ratchet."

It wasn't as if Jack could tell him everything that happened and he would believe him.

"Jack, you realize that Arcee has most likely returned and will want to know where you've been. You're probably in a lot of trouble."

"I don't care, Ratchet. I really don't care." Jack said stressfully.

Ratchet had taken notice to Jack's whole demeanor. He could see that something was bothering him.

"Jack, are you alright?"

A few tears had fallen from Jack's face. Everything was beginning to get to him. A seat belt came down and secured him comfortingly.

"Tell me what happened?"

"I don't wanna talk about it, Ratchet."

And he really didn't. He had no idea what he had gotten himself into in those alleys. All he wanted was to thank the "Sad Man". Now, he had another memory that was going to haunt him forever and the knowledge of a man who would slowly be driven insane that he could not help. It didn't matter to Jack that he probably didn't deserve his help. The man deserved to at least be put out of his misery, but Jack knew that no one would. He knew it was going to keep in up at night, among other things.

"Jack." Ratchet softly called in concern.

"I just wanna go home."

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Chapel was still in front of the alleys, seeing things that weren't there.

' _Why Jess_?' He heard Al's voice say. 'Why?!'

" _they keep coming back_." He muttered. " _i killed them, i killed...Look, they're coming back_."

Every other sentence, incomplete as they were, was separated by cries and sobs. He saw people passing him by, not giving a damn about what what wrong with him, he kept hearing a woman's voice echoing in his head, repeating something he couldn't understand. Not that it mattered.

" _I can't kill them! They keep coming back_!"

He began hearing that laughter again, drowning out the woman's voice. But that was being accompanied by more voices, all saying things he couldn't hear well.

 _"I kill them, but they come back_."

His left eye saw the people walk over him, but his right saw the living corpses of every person he had ever killed.

" _They keep coming back_." He kept saying. " _They won't stay dead_."

He saw every insurgent he had killed in combat, every punk who had started fights with him that they couldn't finish outside of bars, every fleeing civilian, men, woman, children, and elderly he had shot in the back indiscriminately and without care, every child soldier who took up arms against him and Al, even though he knew that they were being forced to, every democratically elected foreign official he had assassinated on orders from his higher ups, every fellow field agent his superiors told them needed to be liquidated, every life he had taken from the first assassin who Al let escape after he tried to kill the President. He kept hearing the voices of all of them, telling Chapel that they were coming back for him. He heard Al's voice, telling him that he would die for him. And that damned laughter, it just wouldn't stop.

All of their faces were seen perfectly, just as he remembered them, just as he left them. It was if they were right in front of him. And they were all cast in flames, burning like the flesh of Al Simmons. They were all burning in hell that he had sent them to...and they wanted to take him with him. They wanted him to feel their suffering.

"AAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHH!" He screamed at the top of his lungs. "NNNNNOOOOOOOOOOOOO!

But he was screaming at nothing. Everything he was seeing was all in his head, put there by the Hellspawn.

 **7:9:8:1**

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 **Yeesh, that was a dark chapter.**

 **So, I was working on the next chapter of Old Nightmare and decided to bang this one out for the hell of it. I finished it in pretty much one night since it was really just a recap of the season 2 premier of the series, which just so happens to be my favorite episode.**

 **So basically, Jack witnessed Spawn confronting the man who killed him and learning why he was betrayed. Now, Jack knows that Spawn isn't human at all, he isn't alive. Of course, he had no idea what a Hellspawn actually is or how they are created, but he knows the name Al Simmons and now he knows that he's dead but still walking around. Needless to say, Jack is horrified to find all this out. He's also become jaded by what happened in the alleys. His image of Spawn protecting him has been tainted by the actions of an unforgiving being of death. Now, I know it seems stupid that he would feel sorry for Jess Chapel after everything he had seen him do, but I feel like Jack would have preferred that Spawn killed him and got it over with instead of destroying of his mind. Jackson is an honorary Prime after all. Now that he's going back home, he's processing a lot of what he had just saw and it's a bit overwhelming for him. The next chapter may feel like one of the more angstier chapters of Old Nightmare, but I promise that the story won't stay that way. This story will go to some dark places, though. We're talking about Spawn here.**

 **Even though this was pretty much retelling what happened in Season 2 of Spawn, I really liked writing it out. Chapel was always one of my favorite Image characters and I was disappointed that this was the last time we really saw him in the series. I do intend to bring him back, broken mind and all. I wanted to capture the dialogue from the episode as accurate as I could. If you haven't watched the series, I would at least recommend watching the season 2 premier because it is intense. Keith David is scary to listen to and the guy playing Chapel really sells the horror he's put through.**

 **I made some changes to one of the flashbacks. In the original episode, when Chapel kills a child solider, he and Al were in some South American country as the kid was begging for his life in Spanish. But, I wasn't sure which conflict/war it was or what year it happened. With the year I set this in, I think Al would've been alive in the nineties, which was a time when a few things were happening in Africa. So I changed it to Uganda during the ADF insurgency. I know that the U.S. wasn't involved in that conflict and Al and Chapel would have no reason to be there. But for those who aren't familiar with the comic, they both worked under a government official who was a huge war profiteer. It would make sense that he would send a pair of black agents into East Africa to fan some fires and even start a few thsemselves.**

 **StraightedgeWingZero: I know that Spawn saved Cyan because she's Wanda's daughter, but he wasn't going to tell Jack that. He just wanted to get Jack out of those alleys as quickly as possible so he lied to make himself seem like someone he wouldn't want to be around.**

 **Also, Clown has taken notice to Jack Darby. Cogliostro said in the last chapter that he has a light in him that would attract the intention of both Heaven and Hell. And by the way Chapel was begging for his help, he may have seen that light too. Clown, however, seems to view Jack as a potential threat and is going to Malebolgia with this information to find out what he should do about it. Doesn't seem like this dark world is done with Jack yet.**

 **So, here's to another chapter. I wish I could work on these more often, but I gotta stay focused on Old Nightmare and A Shard of Glass. But every so often, I'll come back to his. I really hope you enjoyed the read. Leave comments and reviews and I'll see you all next time.**


	3. Chapter 3

_"Rafael, are you there?"_ Ratchet called through the comm link.

"Right here, Ratchet." Raf responded back.

 _"I've got Jack and heading to a safe spot for a bridge. Be ready for my call."_

"Great, I was getting worried." Raf said. "Um, Ratchet?"

 _"What's wrong?"_

Raf looked over his shoulder and saw Arcee right behind him. She had just come back minutes ago and was very unhappy about the trip Jack took.

"You may want to get here fast. Arcee is back from patrol and she's _not_ happy."

Ratchet sighed on the other end.

 _"We'll be there shortly. Tell her not to worry."_

Raf cut communications and waited for Ratchet's call back. Arcee still looked angry about the whole thing, but worried as well.

"Arcee." Optimus said as he walked up. "Ratchet will bring Jackson home safe and sound."

Arcee was as angry with Optimus as she was with Jack and Ratchet.

"Optimus, did you know about what happened to him six years ago?" She asked.

"I did."

That seemed to only anger her even more.

"Then, with all due respect, why would you let him go back to those alleys?"

"Because I saw that the incident was still affecting him after all these years. I believed that returning to where it began would bring him closure."

Smokescreen walked up to the two to join the conversation.

"What happened to Jack six years ago?" He asked.

"That is not for us to say, Smokescreen." Optimus answered.

"All I know is that when he gets back, he has a lot of explaining to do." Arcee added.

 _"Rafael, we're ready."_ Ratchet said through comms.

Raf opened up a ground bridge for he and Jack to return through. Jack was greeted by the sight of Team Prime looking worried, except for Arcee, who just looked mad. At least his mother wasn't there. Jack had calmed down from earlier, but he was still feeling pretty low after the incident with Spawn and Chapel. He did not have to energy to deal with any of this right now.

Jack got out of the ambulance and was immediately approached by Arcee.

"Well?" She asked sternly.

"Arcee, I'm really not in the mood."

"I could care less, Jack."

Optimus stepped forward and took the gentler approach.

"Jackson, you were told to be no longer than fifteen minutes. You had told Ratchet that you only wished to light a candle for the other victims and to pay your respects. You were there for two hours and did not answer your phone when Ratchet tried to contact you multiple times. Please, understand that we were concerned for your safety and want to make sure that you are alright."

"I'm fine, Optimus." He lied. "I'm just ready to head home now."

Optimus and Arcee could tell he was lying, but Optimus decided to give him some reprieve for now.

"Very well, Jackson." Optimus said.

Arcee, however, was not done by a long shot.

"I'm going to get my energon intake for the day and then I'm taking you home." She said very sternly. "When we get there, you're gonna tell me what you were doing in Rat City. Got that?"

"Yes, Arcee."

"I'll be back in a click. _Don't_ wander off."

Arcee was so mad that she was talking to Jack like he was a child. But Jack understood. It was anger born from worry. There was no way that he was going to tell her what happened back there, or else she would go into June Darby levels of panic. Jack took a seat at the foot of the steps as he waited for Arcee to return. Both Ratchet and Optimus saw that his hands were shaking.

"Jackson, are you alright?" Optimus asked.

Jackson didn't even have the strength to lie.

"No."

"What troubles you, my young friend?"

"I can't talk about it right now, Optimus."

"Did something happen in Rat City?"

Jack wanted to end this conversation.

"Please, just...Just let it be for now. I'll tell you what happened tomorrow."

Jack was almost pleading to drop the subject.

"Very well."

Miko had other plans.

"Okay, but answer me this." She began as she walked past Optimus. "Why didn't you tell us that you got kidnapped by that ice cream freak when you were a kid?"

"What?!" Bulkhead and Bumblebee said in unison.

"Ice cream freak?" Smokescreen asked in confusion.

Jack had really hoped that Miko didn't find out.

"Miko." Jack began while rubbing the side of his head.

"How did _you_ find out about that?" Ratchet asked.

"The news, duh." She said. "My host parents were watching it when I went home last night and I heard Jack's name come up. Plus, everyone was talking about it in school today."

Jack looked up in surprised. Great, now everyone knew his secret, including Sierra and Vince.

"What, didn't you notice? I was waiting to see how long you'd keep this from us. So what's the big idea, huh? Why you keepin' secrets from your friends, Jack?"

Miko was practically interrogating Jack, which made him think about Chapel, which made him wonder if he was still in front of the alleys going insane.

"Back off, Miko." Arcee said as she returned. "He's obviously had a rough night."

"Uh, weren't you just on his case five seconds ago?"

"Jack's allowed to have his secrets and he doesn't have to tell us if he doesn't want to."

Jack was surprised to see Arcee suddenly so understanding. But she looked back to him harshly once again.

"But that doesn't mean I'm letting you off the hook for today, Jack. I still want an explanation when we get home."

Arcee transformed and Jack walked over to hop on. The pair drove out of the base, leaving the rest of Team Prime for the night. Both Ratchet and Optimus were worried about the way Jack was acting. Optimus couldn't help but feel something dark coming from him. He couldn't put his digit on it, but Jack felt...tainted for some reason.

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Arcee had cooled down during the ride home, but was growing more worried about her partner. Jack was even quieter than he was the day before. The femme pulled off to the side of the desert road to have a talk with him.

"Arcee, what are you doing?"

"Jack, listen. I...I worry about you, okay."

Jack knew that Arcee was going to ask him about Rat City, but he wasn't sure of what he should tell her. She would not believe anything that happened.

"I know your Mom worries enough for the both of us, but I'm your guardian. It's my job to keep you safe. I'm not saying you're helpless without me, but after those two incidents with Airachnid, I _have_ become a little more protective of you. You know? And I'm not mad about you not telling me about Billy Kincaid or getting kidnapped because I understand why you didn't. I wouldn't want to revisit something like that either."

It's funny, hearing Arcee talk to him was helping him relax about earlier.

"But after finding out about it, you can't blame me for being even more protective. And then I find out that you went back to the alleys, what am I suppose to think?"

"I know, Arcee...I shouldn't have gone back there."

"Fragging right, you shouldn't have, at least not alone. Do you have any idea how worried I was?"

"I'm sorry. Really, I am. I just...I don't know. I don't know what I was looking for back there."

Arcee took a moment to let Jack collect himself.

"Jack, tell me what happened?"

Jack closed his eyes, still not ready to talk about it.

"Arcee..."

"Jack, I've ridden with you enough times to tell when something's off, no matter how subtle it is. You've been shaking since we left the base."

Jack lowered his head in defeat.

"C'mon, Partner, just between us. I won't tell June about this, I promise."

That was a worry lifted, but he was still unwilling to recap the things he saw Spawn do.

"Arcee, I...I saw something tonight that...that doesn't make any sense."

"What do you mean?"

"I just...I shouldn't have gone back. It would've been better if I stayed away."

He was shaking again and now Arcee was even more worried.

"What did you see, Jack?"

"I...I can't say, not now."

"Jack."

"Please, Arcee, don't make me talk about it right now. I just really wanna go home and...forget all about tonight."

Arcee didn't have the spark to press further.

"Alright, Jack. I'll go easy on you this time. Just don't do anything stupid like that again."

"I won't, 'Cee."

"And if you're not gonna talk to me about it, talk to someone, anyone. Promise me, you will?"

"I promise."

"Alright then, let's go home before your Mom has a panic attack."

"Yeah, we definitely don't want that."

The pair proceeded to the Darby home, Jack feeling a little better after talking with Arcee. But he knew that he wasn't going to be able to sleep tonight. He could still hear Chapel's screams when he saw Spawn's fa-...Jack had to stop himself from thinking about it. The look on his face was not unnoticed by Arcee.

The femme was willing to let Jack off the hook for now, but she was still very worried. What bothered her most was what Jack had vaguely mentioned to her. He said he saw something that didn't make sense, making her think of what June had told her. Jack spoke of a "Sad Man" in the alleys who possessed some kind of strange power. Even though the authorities were dismissive of the then ten year old boy, Arcee couldn't help but believe him. She believed that there really was a red cloaked being with glowing eyes that rescued him from Billy Kincaid. Was that who Jack had seen when he went back? If so, why was he so scared this time around. If this was the same person or thing who saved him, what did he do that would frighten him so much? Now, she wanted to get to bottom of this. She was even thinking about going to those alleys herself and finding this Sad Man. But before she did anything reckless, she needed to make sure her partner was okay. Maybe tomorrow, he'll feel better and talk to her. She just had to wait and see.

June hadn't come home yet, much to Jack's relief. She would've picked up that something was wrong and Jack could not lie to her. She would've put bars on his windows if she ever found out that he had gone back to those alleys. Jack closed the garage door, removed his helmet, and prepared to head inside.

"Jack?"

Jack looked back to Arcee. She transformed to show him her face.

"Whatever you saw today, it can't get to you as long I'm here. You're safe with me."

Jack then did something Arcee wasn't expecting, he hugged her. He hugged her as best he could with his smaller size. The femme was taken completely off guard by Jack's action.

"Thank you, Arcee. I really needed to hear that."

Arcee was not the most affectionate femme out there, but she didn't push Jack away. If this made him feel safer, she would let him hug her for as long as he needed to. Though, she did feel very awkward by the act. Jack let her go, smiling up at her when he did. Arcee returned it, happy that she made him feel less afraid.

"Goodnight, Arcee."

"Goodnight."

Arcee let herself stop worrying for now and went into recharge. Jack, however, didn't even try to go to sleep. He got in front of his computer and opened up his messenger.

-Cyan, are you there?

Jack waited for Cyan to respond, but minutes went by without one.

- _Kinda' late, isn't it?_

-Cyan, I have to ask you something really important.

- _Okay?_

It was a bit of a stretch, but Jack remembered the way Spawn acted towards Cyan. He gave her a ring when he sent them off to their families, but Jack didn't know why. When she gave it to her mother, she seemed like she had seen it before. Jack always wondered if Spawn knew Cyan.

-You ever hear the name Al Simmons?

::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::

"Ten of ours to bring in one guy? What is he, dusted?" Detective Sam Burke said to his partner Twitch Williams.

The pair were walking up the stairs of the local precinct to see particularly off perp that was brought in earlier. He was found on the street by one of the patrolman.

"No drugs in his system." Twitch explained as Sam sipped his coffee. "The doctors seem to feel that there is some sort of brain damage."

"Shit, where'd they pick this guy up?"

"The alleys where we're investigating those murders, Sir. Coincidence?"

"I don't believe in coincidences."

"Neither do I, Sir...not down there."

Sam and Twitch had been investigating those alleys for years now. They seemed to be an attraction for all sorts of scumbags and sick minds, mob hitters working for Tony Twist, a serial child killer, a priest gone mad. Bad shit happened in those alleys and the two detectives were determined to find out why.

The pair walked into the main office of the upper level, where the perp was being guarded by several uniforms. He was chained down tightly to a wooden chair, looking like hell had worked him over. It was Jess Chapel.

"Shit." Sam said when he got a good look at him. "Well, there's the problem right there. He uses too much make up. That can drive a guy nuts."

Twitch crouched down to get closer look.

"Ritualistic markings, very primal." He said. "Yes, African warriors use similar markings. The skull signifies death."

Chapel didn't even seem aware of anything going on around him. Had hadn't spoken or moved much since the pair entered the room.

"Looks military." Sam noted. "Special forces training."

Twitch went behind him and examined his hands.

"No tags." Sam added. "Mercenary, maybe."

"His fingerprints have been burned off." Twitch said.

Sam lifted his head from under his chin.

"It'll be hard to make a positive ID." Sam followed. "Looks like we got ourselves a real pro."

Sam accidentally stepped on one of the chains, causing it to pull down on Chapel.

"Al?!" Chapel said suddenly.

Chapel's mood flipped instantly. He began sweating and panning his eyes nervously, breathing harder by the second.

"Christ." He said.

Memories of his encounter with his deceased former partner came back in full force.

"No!" He yelled.

Chapel then managed to rip the chair out of the ground and throw in over his back, screaming at nothing as he did. Two of the uniforms had there guns drawn in seconds.

"I Killed Him! You Hear Me?! I Killed'em! Do You Hear Me?! I. Killed. Him!"

Chapel continued to rant like a lunatic as the officers approached to get him under control.

"Confessions of a fruitcake." Sam commented. "Probably nothin', but check the alleys for another body anyway."

Sam and Twitch watched as Chapel kept on rambling about the murder of his best friend.

::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::

 _Gunfire_  
 _"Tell me where the guns are."_  
 _"I don' know"_  
 _Glass Breaking, Screaming, Gunfire_  
 _"I Remember You"_  
 _Yelling, Smashing Noises_  
 _"Jess Chapel From Joliet, Illinois"_  
 _"Al?"_  
 _"You Took Everything From Me."_  
"You're Not Him."  
 _Screaming, Explosion_  
 _ **"You're Not Him!"**_  
 _"Touch It, It's Real. Feel It, You Made It."_  
 _Horrified Scream_  
 _"You Can't Be Alive"_  
 _"I'm Not."_  
 _"You...Don't...Belong Here."_  
 _"You really shouldn't be here."_  
 _"There are no heroes in this place."_  
 _"Help Me."_  
 _"I Scream, You Scream, We All Scream For Ice Cream."_  
 _"Kill'em. Kill'em. Kill Him. Kill Him. Kill'em. Kill. Him."_  
 _"Let Them Go."_  
 _"HELP DADDDDDDYYYYYYY!"_

Jack rose from his bed like he was spring loaded. His skin was cold with sweat and his heart was thumping in his chest. Even wide awake, the events of the night before and the night six years ago were frighteningly easy to remember in vivid detail. Jack was out of breath and he tried to control himself and settle down. He rubbed his face to pull himself together, sitting up in his bed in silence for a solid five minutes. He went to the bathroom and washed his face. The nightmare he just had was still replaying in his head.

"I should've stayed away." He said to himself.

Jack went out into the hallway and saw that his mother's door was open, meaning she had left already. The sun hadn't come up yet and it was still early. But Jack wasn't going back to sleep anytime soon and he really didn't want to stay in his room until it was time to leave. But he knew Arcee was gonna want to know why he was leaving early again and he was not in a state of mind to talk about what happened yesterday.

Jack brushed his teeth, got changed, and went into the garage. Arcee must've still been in power down because she didn't seem to react to him when he entered. When he shut the door, she powered back up. Arcee made noises that kids sleeping in class made when the bell rang. Jack found it funny to know that Cybertronians weren't morning people either. Arcee sounded like she was clearing her throat when she noticed her partner.

"Oh hey, Jack." She groggily said.

"Sorry I woke you, Arcee."

Arcee made another noise that kind of sounded like a yawn.

"Is it time to go?" She asked. "It's still dark out."

"I couldn't sleep." Jack said, expecting the appropriate reaction.

Arcee was silent for a few seconds.

"Is everything okay?" She asked with a fair amount of concern, considering yesterday.

Jack took a moment to choose his words.

"Just one of those mornings."

He knew Arcee didn't believe him, but thankfully, she didn't shake him down for answers.

"Alright, let's hit the road then."

Jack grabbed his helmet and mounted the two-wheeler. He mirrors were already on him.

"You sure you're okay, Partner?"

"I just...have a lot on my mind, that's all."

The two left the garage and headed for Jack's school. The ride was as quiet as it had been for the last two days. Neither really had much to say. Jack didn't forget his talk with Arcee yesterday and Arcee wanted to give Jack some space until he was ready to talk about whatever happened. But she was still very worried about him and she knew that her partner could easily tell. She was glad that she didn't tear into him like she intended to before he came back. If she had, he'd probably be too nervous to say anything to her.

They pulled up to the school which was, once again, practically empty in the early hours. Jack sub-spaced his helmet and got off Arcee. She could tell that he wasn't lying about having a lot on his mind.

"We heading to your job after school or straight to base?" She asked.

"Can't afford to miss another day. My boss is already gonna cut my hours just for calling out."

"Alright, I'll see you later, Jack."

"See ya, Arcee."

Jack turned to leave, but Arcee felt a need to keep him there a little while longer.

"Jack?"

"Yeah, 'Cee."

She was tempted to ask Jack to skip school and go to base with her, just for today. He still looked very tired, meaning he didn't get much sleep last night, and she hoped that taking a day to collect himself would help him feel better. That and she still felt more protective of him because of yesterday. But she knew he wouldn't do that and risk the wrath of June Darby for his truancy. But she called his name already and she didn't want to sit there with nothing to say and feel like an idiot.

"Listen..." She started. "Be safe, okay?"

Jack stayed in place, looking at Arcee as if he understood, which he did. He knew that he made her worry yesterday. He felt very irresponsible and ashamed for that and knew that it was his fault for her still be being worried right now.

"It's okay, Arcee. Not a lot can happen to me in school."

Jack walked back to Arcee and put his hand on her handlebar.

"But thanks for being concerned. I'll be careful."

"Thank you, Jack...See ya."

Arcee really didn't want to leave Jack alone, even in school where there was at least a few teachers there already. She waited until he was in the building before she pulled off to base, keeping her mirrors fixed on the entrance. She never worried about Jack this much, but between the way he was shaking yesterday and the silence of this morning, she knew she wouldn't feel better until she got him to base where it was safe. Primus, she really was turning into June. But then again, knowing what she knew now, she had as much reason to be worried as the single mother.

::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::

Jack may have occupied the desk he was sitting in during algebra, but mentally, he was still stuck in his conversation with Cyan. He asked her if she had ever heard the name "Al Simmons" before. Cyan claimed to never have heard the name Simmons, but she had heard her parents mention an Al many times before. However, she never thought to ask who they were talking about and didn't know who he was.

Jack didn't tell her about last night, as if she'd buy that he somehow got to New York from Nevada and back in a single night. But with everything he learned about Spawn in the alleys, he needed to know if there was a connection between Cyan and him. And as grasping at straws as it seemed, Jack had to believe that this "Al" that Cyan's parents spoke of was the Al Simmons that Jess Chapel had killed.

But that little bit of information was next to nothing to go on and Jack was left with only more questions. His only options were to ask Cyan to find out more or go back to the alleys and get the answers from the "man" himself. Of course, Jack was never going back to those alleys. He learned his lesson after last night. But he wasn't sure if he wanted to get Cyan involved in this either. He knew she had to have as many questions about the "Sad Man" as he did. But she didn't see what he saw last night and he was glad for that. She was no doubt still haunted enough from Billy Kincaid. There was no need to scar her any further. If only he had been smarter and stayed away like he was supposed to.

His first class finally ended, but now it was time for art history, a subject he loathed. Nonetheless, he pulled himself from one boring period to the next. But as he walked the halls, he noticed the odd behavior of the other kids as he passed. They were all looking at him, mumbling and whispering under their breaths. Being so tired, Jack didn't remember what Miko had said to him yesterday. He stopped by his locker to store away his heavy algebra book when he noticed Vince and his crew. Jack sighed, knowing what was coming next. Sure enough, one of the smirking idiots began walking up to him with his chest puffed out. As if this day wasn't long enough already. But then...

"Forget it, man."

That was Vince's voice. Jack looked to his left and saw that his high school bully had stopped the kid.

"Huh?" The nameless jock questioned.

"Leave'em alone." Vince said.

"What?" The jock said in shock.

"I said, leave'em alone. C'mon, let's go to class."

Despite the dumbfounded look on the jock's face, which was almost mirrored by Jack's, the group of bullies left him in peace. Jack had no idea what just happened and left his locker in a state of confusion.

When he got to his next class, he saw Sierra sitting on top of his desk. She had the class before him, but he didn't know why she was waiting for him.

"Sierra?" He questioned.

"Hey, Jack."

"Hey." Was his confused response. "Shouldn't you be going to your next class?"

Sierra seemed different from the last time they spoke. She was acting cautious for some reason.

"So..." She said with no real idea what to follow.

"So?" Jack responded.

"Um...I heard something about you last night."

That's when it all came back and smacked Jackson right in his face.

"That thing the night before last, you know, the sixth anniversary of those dead kids?"

"I remember."

"Well, the alleys where it all went down, something happened there last night...and the news was talking about two kids who got away from that ice cream guy..."

Now, she knew too. Everyone knew, in fact. Everyone in school now knew his secret. Sierra just looked at Jack as if she couldn't believe it herself.

"Was that really you, the little boy who was kidnapped?"

Jack looked away, hating every news channel in the country.

"Yes." He said lowly.

He looked at Sierra who was staring at him with wide eyes, no doubt wondering why he never told anyone.

"It's not something I like to talk about."

"Well shit, I don't blame you...I just can't believe that...Jeez, that must've the most terrifying thing to ever happen to you."

But it wasn't. Last night was the most terrified he had ever been.

"Are you...Are you alright?"

Jack couldn't be mad at her, she meant well. But he really didn't want to have this conversation.

"It's been six years, Sierra. I'm fine, really."

"Oh, okay."

Sierra decided to remove herself from his desk and leave him be.

"Hey." She said as she lightly squeezed his arm. "If you ever wanna talk, you can always come to me. I'm a really good listener."

Again, she surprised him. Sierra was not only looking to spend time with Jack, but she was also willing to help him get through some troubles he was having. As much as he appreciated the concern, this was not the kind of attention he wanted from her.

Jack smiled politely and she returned it in kind before she left. Jack sat at his desk and began thinking about everything that was going on. He looked around and saw that a few people were throwing glances his way and holding conversations that were obvious he was the subject. Jack really didn't want this to be happening right now. He didn't want to be the center of everyone's attention. He looked up at the clock and saw that he still had three minutes before class started. Deciding that he couldn't be there for a minute longer, Jack quickly got up and left the classroom before the teacher could walk in. He made his way back to the court yard just in time to hear the final bell.

He sat up against the wall, stressfully massaging his forehead. He had never skipped school in his life, but right now, he needed to be anywhere but there. He pulled out his phone and made a call, rubbing the side of his head with his free had as if he had a migraine. After a few rings, the other end was connected.

 _"Jack?"_

"Hey, Arcee."

Arcee paused before responding.

 _"Hey...Aren't you in class, right now?"_

"Listen, 'Cee...Um..."

He had already raised a flag by calling her when he was supposed to be in class, but if he went through with this, he knew she would want some answers.

 _"Jack, you there?"_

"Can you come pick me up from school?"

He felt like such a child asking that, but the pause on the other end was a sign of Arcee's concern.

 _"Is something wrong?"_ She asked.

"I-I just..."

Jack released his breath. There was no point in lying.

"Yeah...Yeah, a lotta things."

 _"I'll be there in a click. Hang tight, Partner."_

"Thanks, Arcee."

Jack hung up and waited for Arcee to come get him. He didn't know if he was going to work today or call out again, but he couldn't take being in school where everyone knew about what happened. If his Mom found out, she'd be disappointed, but she'd also understand. Within the next minute, Arcee pulled up and Jack went to her.

"Thanks again." He said as he mounted her alt.

"What's up, Jack? Are you okay?" She asked in concern.

"Just...not having a good day."

"Wanna talk about it?"

He'd hoped it wouldn't come to this so soon, but with everything that's going on, maybe today was the day to be straight with his partner.

"Right now, no...But later on, there's a lot I need to tell you."

Arcee didn't say anything for a few seconds, but Jack knew she was able to figure it out.

"Alright, Jack. Just don't make a habit out of this, okay?"

They headed off to base, once again, in silence. Arcee didn't like to ride quiet like this, but Jack had always given her space when she needed it and she would do the same for him. She just hoped that him talking to her later would help him get over these demons that were clearly still haunting him.

::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::

Jack and Arcee arrived at base to the surprise and confusion of the others. None of them were expecting any of the children to be there so early on a weekday.

"Jackson." Optimus greeted politely.

"Hey, Optimus." He responded nervously, knowing that they were wondering why he was there.

"We were not expecting you so early. Why aren't you in school?"

Jack was about to say something, but couldn't manage to form a response. Arcee stepped in on his behalf.

"Optimus, Jack isn't feeling too great today so I decided to bring him with me instead."

Optimus didn't seem to completely approve.

"Are you sure that was wise?" He asked Arcee.

"I'm sorry, Optimus." Jack said without looking up. "I just had a rough morning."

Optimus noticed that Jack was guarded and distant and it wasn't hard to figure out the cause.

"Then perhaps Arcee made the right decision to bring you here. However, for the sake of your education and to avoid your mother's discipline, I would not recommend you do this again in the future."

"I won't, Optimus. This is a one time thing, I promise. I'll stay out the way while you guys do your normal thing."

Jack made his way up the steps and everyone noticed how tired he looked.

"Jack." Arcee called, stopping him halfway up the steps. "If you need anything, come find me, okay?"

Jack nodded with half opened eyes and continued up the steps. Optimus looked to Arcee for clearer answers.

"What is the real reason you have brought him here, Arcee?"

Arcee sighed and looked up to see if Jack was listening. She could sense his heat signature moving towards the couch.

"I dropped him off and then he called me about an hour later to pick him up. He didn't tell me why?"

Now, Optimus was concerned.

"Is this about last night?" He asked.

"I think so."

Ratchet decided to step in.

"His mother doesn't know about that, does she?" He asked.

"Of course, she doesn't. He wouldn't be here if she did, Ratchet."

The medic exhaled in relief, safe from June Darby's wrath for now.

"Look, I'm trying to get Jack to tell me what happened. Until he comes around, don't bring up anything about yesterday or six years ago. Jack really, _really_ , doesn't want to talk about that."

"Very well, Arcee." Optimus said. "But you must keep close watch over him. If whatever is troubling affects him too greatly, you have to intervene, regardless if he asks you to or not."

Arcee didn't need Optimus to tell her that, that was something she was prepared to do from the beginning. She looked back up and scanned for Jack in the living area. She was relieved to find him sleeping on the couch. However, if she had scanned his vitals, she would've picked on his elevated pulse and increased heart rate. He had only fallen asleep minutes ago and already, a nightmare was haunting him.

::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::

 _"Why?"_

 _Jack opened his eyes and found himself in the heart of the hellish alleys where he was the only soul. The voice he heard came from nowhere, but he recognized it. It was the old man who brought Jack to Spawn._

 _"Why did you ignore our warnings? Why did you come back?"_

 _Jack didn't come back. He didn't even know why he was there._

 _"I don't know what I'm doing here. I didn't wanna come back." He nervously said._

 _"You are here...And now, you are alone. No one will come for you this time." The old man's voice said._

 _"No!" Jack cried. "Don't leave me here."_

 _"You should have never come back."_

 _"I didn't want to! I don't even know how I got here!"_

 _"You came back." A familiar voice kindly said behind him._

 _Jack turned to see the monster that set him in this path in the first place. It was Billy Kincaid, smiling devilishly at him._

 _"Do you still want to dance?" He asked._

 _Jack was taking very panicked breaths as Billy stared at him with that creepy smile he remembered. He stood between two burning trashcan fires, casting both light and shadows upon him and giving him a demonic appearance._

 _"No one's gonna bother us this time. We can play as long as we want."_

 _Suddenly, Jack was a ten year old boy again and any of the bravery his sixteen year old self possessed had vanished with his age. The scared child ran away as fast as he could down the other end of the alley._

 _"Come back!" Billy cried, but Jack ignored him._

 _Jack shut his eyes and kept on running, but then he opened his eyes and saw that he had ran into a darker part of the alley where there was almost covered in blackness. Every corner was obscured by shadows and Jack feared that something would jump out at him at any moment. He heard something shuffling nearby and turned to face whatever was coming._

 _"Who's there?!"_

 _He was a teenager again, but no less afraid._

 _"he couldn't have come back. the dead don't come back. but he's back."_

 _Jack thought he recognized the mumbling voice from what little he could hear. From the shadows came the man that Spawn had driven to madness, Jess Chapel. He was still rambling as his white eye shifted rapidly in every direction. His clothes were torn to shreds and his was bleeding from his head. He saw Jack and moved towards him._

 _"Why didn't help me?!" He cried._

 _"I'm sorry." Jack said like a frightened little boy._

 _"You could've saved me from them!"_

 _"There wasn't anything I could do! I swear!"_

 _"I needed your help...And You Left Me!"_

 _"I'm just a kid! I couldn't have helped you!"_

 _"You left me in the gutter!"_

 _Chapel grabbed Jacked by the arms._

 _"I THOUGHT YOU WERE GOOD! YOU LEFT ME TO DIE! WHY!_ _ **WHY!**_ _"_

 _Jacked pushed Chapel away and ran for his life. Chapel began crying out for him as he did._

 _"No! Don't Leave! Please! No!"_

 _Jack felt streams of hot tears flow down his cheeks as he heard Chapel descend into a hysteria._

 _"I'm Sorry. I'm Sorry." He kept saying to himself._

 _Jack suddenly heard machine gun fire and hit the deck for cover. When he opened his eyes and stood up, he saw the alleys were littered with the corpses of vagrants and children. Some were shot to death, others were butchered like raw meat, all of them had their eyes wide open and staring at Jack._

 _"This isn't happening. I'm having a nightmare. Wake up, wake up, wake up."_

 _But the nightmare wouldn't end. Jack was still in the alleys with Billy Kincaid, Jess Chapel, and God knows how many dead bodies. Suddenly, Jack heard the sounds of chains rattling above him. He looked up and saw Spawn. He was up high, hidden away in an opening of an abandoned building. He was almost invisible in the shadows, safe for the outline of his cloak and his glowing eyes._

 _"Spawn." Jack said with the faintest hint of relief._

 _"I warned you, didn't I? I warned you about comin' back to these alleys."_

 _Jack grew scared as Spawn didn't move from his spot._

 _"I told you never to come back. You shoulda' listened."_

 _"Please, I don't know why I'm here. I didn't come here on my own."_

 _"You're here because you didn't stay away. You should've never come to find me, Jack. Now you're stuck here."_

 _Jack's heart dropped at those words, the thought of being in the alleys forever._

 _"No...no." Jack said in panic._

 _"Now you're stuck here with skull face and fat boy. Enjoy your stay, Jackson."_

 _"No, don't! Please, don't leave me here!"_

 _Without saying another word, Spawn disappeared into the darkness, leaving Jack alone. Jack fell to his knees and his whole body began to tremble. The alley was cold, but he was afraid more than anything else._

 _"Oh, God. Someone help me." He said too low for anyone to really hear. "Arcee, Optimus, anyone."_

 _But no one came. Jack was alone and stuck in the alleys for the rest of would could be his short life, or eternity, for all he knew. Jack then noticed something he was holding. He held it out and saw that was a revolver._

 _"What? Why do I have this?"_

 _He felt something behind him and looked to see Chapel slumped over on his knees._

 _"Please...help me." He pitifully said._

 _Jack looked at him with no idea of what to do, but then it became clear to him._

 _"They keep coming back. I can't kill them...They won't leave me alone." Chapel sobbed._

 _Jack stood up and face Chapel, realizing what he had to do. But of course, he didn't want to do it. Jack had never killed anyone before and as much as it was not only what Chapel deserved, but also what he wanted, Jack felt sick at the thought of taking another life._

 _"Please...Make them stop." Chapel begged without looking up at Jack._

 _The teen raised the gun, his arm shaking so hard that it threatened to drop it by accident. A lump formed in Jack's throat and the tears kept flowing from his eyes. he then heard an evil voice from somewhere in alleys._

 _"Kill'em. Kill Him. Kill'em! Kill'em, Kill'em, Kill Him, Kill'em, Kill. Him. Kill Him! Kill Him! KILL'EM!"_

 _"I'm sorry." Jack said. "I'm sorry."_

 _"Kill. Him. Kill Him! Kill Him!"_

 _He looked away and he began to pull back on the trigger._

 _"I'm sorry." He said again._

 _"Jack" Another voice called for him, one he might've recognized if he had heard it clearly over the first voice._

 _"Kill'em. Kill Him. Kill'em! Kill'em"_

 _"I'm so sorry."_

 _"Jack." The voice called again._

 _This time Jack heard the voice clearly._

 _'Arcee' He thought._

::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::

"Jack. Jack, wake up." The nervous femme said to her partner.

Arcee and Ratchet had heard Jack from below the platforms and Arcee had rushed to see if he was okay. When she got to him, she saw him tossing and turning and covered in sweat, all while speaking barely comprehensible words. That's when Arcee tried to wake him up.

"I'm sorry, I'm sorry."

Jack kept repeating those words as tears fell from down his face.

"C'mon, Jack. Snap out of it."

With a loud and sharp breath, Jack's eyes shot opened. They fixed themselves on the ceiling of the silo as they tried to adjust to the sudden light. Jack was gasping with each breath as he struggled to catch it.

"Jack." Arcee worriedly said.

When he looked to his startled partner, Jack realized where he was.

"Arcee?"

"Easy...you were having a nightmare."

Jack sat up and rubbed his head, trying to make sense of his half forgotten dream. Arcee knelt beside the couch and put her servo on his back.

"Are you alright?"

Jack was able to catch his breath, though he was taking long drawn out breaths.

"Yeah." He lied with a nod. "I'm-I'm okay."

He was calming now, but the nightmare was beginning to come to memory in more detail

"You scared me, Jack." Arcee said.

"I'm sorry."

"About what?"

Jack rubbed his face and groaned to get the nightmare out his head.

"Nothing-I mean...nevermind."

"You kept saying that before you woke up. Who were you saying sorry to?"

"Just forget it."

"Jack..."

"I don't want to talk about it."

Jack got up and walked over to the railing. But when he looked over, he saw the other Autobots staring up at him with looks of concern. They must've all heard him in his sleep and came to see what was going on. Jack always hated being the center of attention and he didn't like to make people worry about him. He felt the same way he did at school and he needed to be out of everyone's sight right now. He quickly descended the steps and walked the corridor with no destination in mind. Arcee had followed him down and watched as he left, unsure of what she should do.

"Arcee." Optimus called to her.

She looked over as he walked up to her.

"Now is the time to intervene." He said.

Arcee nodded and went after Jack down the hallway. It was worse than Optimus thought. Whatever happened last night in the alleys might have scarred Jack as badly his ordeal with Billy Kincaid. Once again, Optimus thought about what he had read in the Jack's statement about the red cloaked figure that save him. Did Jack have another encounter with him? If so, what did he witness this time?

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Arcee had looked in several storage room in search of Jack, but didn't find him. However, she heard his voice coming from one of the rooms for the Iacon Relics. As she got closer, she heard Jack talking to himself. She peeked in and saw him pacing back and forth in front of the Apex Armor.

"Stupid, what the hell was I thinking? Why did I go back? What was I looking for? I was doing so well with it. I just had to deal with it for one day a year. I should've just stayed away from there like Cyan did. I'm such an idiot."

"Jack." Arcee said to get his attention.

Jack turned his attention to Arcee, suddenly and startled. She entered the room looking very concerned and Jack just stood there as if he had been caught doing something he wasn't suppose to be doing. He took a few deep breaths and seemed to look everywhere except at Arcee. He looked so tired and was still visibly shaken. Arcee looked on with pity.

"Let's go for a ride." She suggested.

Jack paused and then shook his head.

"No." He said quietly.

"No?" She questioned.

Jack seemed to be wrestling with something in his head, as he still wasn't looking at Arcee.

"I'm sorry, I'm just...I'm not up for it right now."

Jack was never not up for a ride with Arcee, so now, she was really worried. It'd be like Miko not wanting to dune bash with Bulkhead or Rafael not studying for his next test. Between this, the silence, the nightmare, and him skipping school, Arcee thought it was time to step in. The femme stepped out into the hallway for a moment to see if anyone was listening in on them and shut the storage room door when she saw that they were alone.

"We need to talk, Jack?"

Jack knew what she wanted to talk about and at this point, he didn't have it in him to fight her on it.

"I know." He said as he sighed.

"Look, I know I said that I wouldn't make you talk about yesterday, but at this point Jack, I need some answers."

She walked up to Jack and knelt down to be able to see his face more closely. She needed to be able to read his expressions to see if he was hiding something.

"What happened in Rat City?"

Jack was hesitant though, unsure if Arcee would believe what saw.

"Did you see him, the sad man?"

He looked at Arcee is total surprise.

"How do you..."

"Your mom told me what you said to the police and I also read the report. I believe you saw what you saw back then."

Jack looked even more surprised.

"You do?"

Arcee nodded thoughtfully.

"The question is, did you find him in the alleys again? Is he what's got you so scared?"

If Jack was being honest, Spawn did scare him. Even though he didn't think that he would intentionally hurt him, he saw what he was capable of, both of his powers and his cruelty. Jack took a deep breath and exhaled to give his answer.

"His name is Spawn."

"Spawn?" Arcee asked. "Odd name, for a human."

"I don't...I don't think he _is_ human, Arcee."

It didn't escape that Jack looked off when he said that.

"So, what happened?"

Jack closed his eyes to work up the will to tell the story as it happened.

"I went back to light a candle, just like I told Ratchet...But I also went there to find him...so that I can thank him. But when I got there, a few of the vagrants kept trying to warn me off, saying it wasn't a safe place...I should've listened to them."

Jack's look of regret told of how much he wished he did listen to these vagrnats he spoke of.

"There was this old man...didn't seem like the rest of them. He was very...sage like, I guess. He came off like a wise man or something. He knew who I was and remembered me from back then. He warned me more than the others, but I insisted on seeing Spawn. He took me to him and when I spoke to him...he wasn't who I remembered."

Arcee was tense now, wondering if this "Spawn" character had done something to Jack.

"The guy who saved us, he was scary and dangerous...but only to Billy Kincaid. To me and Cyan, he was kind, gentle, but also very sad. That's why Cyan called him the sad man. But Spawn, he was cold, told me to beat it, didn't seem to care that I was still alive. He wasn't anything like I remember. I asked him why he saved us and he said it was out of pity. He said he should've just let Kincaid have me."

Arcee balled her fist at someone treating he partner that way.

"Anyway, after that conversation, I lost my admiration for the guy and I went to leave."

Jack's face became grim.

"What happened after that?" Arcee asked, cautiously.

"That's when Chapel showed up."

"Chapel?"

Jack's breath were shaky now.

"Some psychopath with a pair of machine guns, came in and just started spraying the alleys."

Arcee couldn't believe what she was hearing. This had all happened while Jack was gone?

"He shot seven people and killed six. Said he was there looking for weapons or something. Some poor guy named Amos had got shot and survived. He was a vagrant that wasn't all there. Chapel beat the man almost to death. He didn't know anything about the weapons, but he just kept torturing him...and there was nothing I could do to save him."

There was a look of powerless frustration on Jack's face, a look he had whenever one of them took a bad hit and he wished he could something to help. Jack then took a seat and ran his hands through his hair. He was bracing himself for the next part of his story.

"Get ready, because this is where things get crazy. I don't even know how to describe what I saw and heard but...Spawn eventually showed up and confronted Chapel...Spawn knew him and he knew Spawn. He called him Al Simmons."

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Sitting in the backseat of a luxury car, being chauffeured by his personal driver throughout the dark city that is Rat City, a sharp dressed man answered his ringing cell phone. It was from Tim Banks, the Chief of Police.

"Yes." He answered.

 _"We picked up one of your boys last night. Triggerman with a skull painted on his face, sound familiar?"_

The man was not happy to hear that.

"Why am I just hearing about this now?"

 _"I'm sorry. But there were complications with processing."_

"I want him cut loose."

 _"I don't think you do. He looks like he's been through a war. Guy's a fuckin' time bomb. He was found outside the alleys. You know the ones I'm talkin' about."_

"Will there be an investigation?"

 _"Considering where we found him, Detectives Burke and Williams are already on the scene, lookin' for another body."_

"I need to be kept up to date with every new development. Do you understand?"

 _"Of course, but what about the triggerman?"_

"I handle the matter myself. Don't mishandle this, Banks."

 _"I'm on top of it, Mr Wynn."_

Jason Wynn, the man who had sent Chapel into the alleys to find his stolen weapons, was very unhappy about this new development.

"Chapel, another disappointment."

Indeed, he had hit another dead end and once again, it lead back to those alleys. That's where that "thing" resided, the one he had seen in Overtkill's video feed, who used Wynn's stolen weapons to kill the cyborg. He knew it lived in those alleys and had brutally murdered anyone who dared trespass into his domain. This creature had already caused enough problems for Jason Wynn and now he was unsure of how to deal with the matter.

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Arcee stood with her back to Jackson, who himself, sat with his head down. Talking about what happened took a lot out of him and it had shaken Arcee to her core. Apparently, Spawn or Al Simmons or whatever his real name was, wasn't just not human, he wasn't living. Jack spoke of a burned and decayed face, as organic corpses tended to do the same way offlined frames rusted. He also spoke of a green substance in place of his blood. The being was able to withstand and heal an attack on his body that would've killed any normal human being and possessed to ability to drive another human mad. Jack was clearly haunted by the shooter, Jess Chapel, begging for his help and him being unable. Then again, Arcee wasn't sympathetic at all towards a man who would betray his own partner and burn him alive.

But the thing that disturbed her the most was that Spawn, or Al Simmons, claimed to be a resurrected being. Megatron had raised the dead of Cybertron using dark energon, but this wasn't the same. The Terrorcons were mindless killing machines who served Megatron. This being had a mind of his own, memories of who he was, and was brought back with unexplainable powers. How was something like this possible and for what purpose was a Human allowed to return from the dead? Was this also the work of dark energon? Was Megatron behind it? So many questions that left Arcee afraid to guess what the answers might be.

It was no wonder that Jack had been acting so frightened since then. Just hearing the story had stirred some fear inside of her. The only comfort she could take was that Jackson had escaped without any physical harm. Unfortunately, it had left yet another mark on him, mentally, and Arcee didn't know what to do to help him get through it.

She looked down at her partner who was still sitting and looking at the ground. He didn't look any better than before. Talking hadn't helped him like she had hoped. She didn't know what to say that could make him feel safer. Jack seemingly shut everything out as he sat there, taking controlled breaths through his nose and out his mouth. He was trying to calm his nerves. As much as she hated being powerless this way, all the femme could do was sit there and watch over him. Hopefully, her presence was comforting him, if only a little.

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When Jack finally decided to head back into the main hall, he avoided everyone. Optimus had made sure that others didn't crowd him or make their concern too obvious. The teen did nothing except sit in the same spot of the couch in complete silence. More than once, Ratchet had forgotten he was there.

When Miko and Raf got out of school and arrived at base, Miko bombarded him with question.

"Dude, you were MIA in school today. What happened?" Miko asked quite loudly.

Bulkhead had tried to get her to leave Jack be, but she ignored him. Arcee was doing something elsewhere and wasn't there to stop her from interrogating Jack again.

"I talked to Sierra and she _said_ you were there this morning, but then you were gone the rest of the day. What gives and since when do you ditch class?"

Jack was so tired that he didn't even attempt to give Miko and answer.

"Uh, hello? Earth to Jack, didn't you hear me?"

"I heard you Miko."

"Okay, so what's the deal? You're like a celebrity in school now and suddenly, you don't wanna be there?"

Raf stepped in to voice his thoughts.

"We were both worried about you, Jack. You were acting so weird yesterday and then we didn't see you in school today. Even Sierra was worried about you. Are you okay?"

Just knowing that Sierra knew the truth made Jack's stomach hurt. He really hated that everyone in school, and for all he knew, the whole town knew the truth. Thinking about it made his head hurt and caused him to rub his temples.

"Yo, Jack, are you even listening?" Miko questioned. "Sierra, _your goddess_ , was worried about you. Why aren't you back flipping with joy?"

"I didn't feel good today, guys, so I just ditched. I'm sorry if I worried you."

Having enough of this conversation, Jack got up and began walking down the steps. Raf just stayed there, looking more worried than before. He knew that Jack was lying and that whatever was wrong with him, it had something to do with him going back to Rat City. Miko, however, was following Jack down the steps with more questions.

"Hey, we're not finished here. I know there's a lot more to it than that."

"Miko, please."

"No way, dude. You kept us in the dark about you being kidnapped, went back to Rat City without us, and now your cutting class and avoiding everyone. You _owe_ us an explanation, buddy."

"Get off his back, Miko." Arcee said sternly as she came from the corridor. "Jack doesn't owe you or anyone else any kind of explanation. He's just not having a good day and doesn't need _you_ attacking him with 101 questions. So just leave him alone, okay?"

Arcee kept a stern look on Miko until the teen huffed in annoyance and went back up to the platform. Knowing that she probably got under Jack's skin, Arcee went to check on her partner. Jack was sitting on top of a metal crate against the wall, under the human area. He looked awful, exhausted and emotionally drained.

"Jack, why don't try to get some sleep. You look like you could use it."

But after the nightmare he had earlier, Jack was too afraid to go back to sleep. His dreams had always been too realistic and this instance, it did him no favors.

"I'll be alright, Arcee. I just need some peace and quiet."

"Good luck with that now that Miko's here."

Arcee didn't get the laughing response she wanted from Jack. The events of last night were really taking its toll on him and Arcee was desperate to help him in any way. The thing was, she knew he wanted answers. He wanted to know what Spawn really was, who Al Simmons was, and how did he end up the way he saw him. A google search might get him half the answers, but he needed more than that and the only way get those answers was to go back to the alleys, which of course, Jack was not going to do. Even if he wanted to, Arcee was never letting him go back to Rat City, much less the alleys.

And then, Arcee had an idea. She took a look at Jack and saw that he was still in his own thoughts. She went over to Ratchet and tried to speak with him in a hushed tone so that no one else could hear them.

"Ratchet, I need to ask you for a favor. Can you help me out?"

"That depends on the favor, Arcee."

"It's to help Jack."

The medic looked up from what he was working on and took a glance at Jack on the crate.

"Alright, I'm listening."

"After Jack turns in for the night, I'll be coming back to base."

"What for?"

"I need you to send me to the same coordinates you sent Jack to yesterday."

Ratchet was flabbergasted by Arcee's request.

"What?" He almost shouted.

"I need you to bridge me to Rat City."

"You're not serious, I hope. Why in the 'verse would you want to go there?"

"Ratchet, just take one look at Jack."

"I see him. He looks unwell."

"Yeah well, after what happened yesterday..."

"Wait, he told you what happened?"

"Yeah, he did...And I wasn't ready for it. The whole thing left Jack with a lotta questions and he's too scared to go back and get them, so I'm going to the alleys to get them for him."

Ratchet understood, but he was not totally on board.

"I don't know about this, Arcee."

"Ratchet, there's nothing in that city I can't handle. But if I don't get the answers Jack's looking for, he's not gonna get better anytime soon. He needs my help and this is the only way I how to."

"And what about Jack? Who's gonna watch over him while you're searching for these answers? Optimus would attract far too much attention in his alt, Bulkhead and Bumblebee will be watching over Miko and Rafael, Wheeljack is in the wind again, and I need to be here to monitor for 'Con activity. Surely you don't plan to leave Jack unprotected, do you?"

Ratchet was right. If Arcee went on this solo mission of hers, it would leave Jack exposed. The only other Autobot she could ask for help was...

"You can't be serious, Arcee." Ratchet stated.

Arcee had been looking at the newest Autobot, Smokescreen. The rookie was not her first choice, given his track record for stupid decisions, one of them involving Jack. She stopped for a moment, trying to think of an alternative. But aside from tracking Wheeljack down, she didn't have any other options. She was going to have to roll the dice if she wanted to help Jack.

"Smokescreen." She called.

Smokescreen turned and gave her his attention, no doubt confused and maybe a little nervous, knowing that Arcee didn't think too highly of him.

"You want me to put in a good word for you to Optimus and maybe end your probation?" She asked.

Smokescreen dropped his hesitance and was willing to do anything Arcee asked. As much as she didn't want to trust him, she was going to put Jack's safety in his servos.

"Be at Jack's place at this time and not a click later. I need you to watch over him while I go out on a mission."

Smokescreen obviously didn't know what was going on, but didn't voice his confusion, not when Arcee was offering to help him out with Optimus.

"Sure thing, Arcee. I'll keep an optic on your partner."

"Don't be late, Smokescreen. Do this right and I'll talk to Optimus and try to convince him to let you back out on the field."

"I won't, don't worry."

Arcee wouldn't trust Smokescreen to protect Jack in a real situation, but so far, nothing has happened to Jack or his mother while they slept. So now, she had a way back to Rat City and someone to watch over Jack while she was gone. The final step was finding Spawn and getting some answers. By the time Jack woke up tomorrow, he will have some real closure.

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It was 11:00 at night. June had just gotten home and was already fast asleep. Her job tended to take a lot out of her. Guess her son got his work ethic from her, Arcee thought. Jack had fallen asleep about an hour ago, but he had trouble doing so for a while before that. She checked his vitals and didn't see any signs of distress, meaning he wasn't having another bad dream...yet. Hopefully, this mission would put an end to that.

Arcee suddenly heard the sound of a horn outside of the garage. She growled in annoyance. Jack had given her a remote to open and close the garage door and Ratchet had connected it to her frame. She used it to meet Smokescreen, who was the one honking his horn, outside.

"Are you dense?" She asked harshly. "People are sleeping and you're hitting your horn in the middle of the night."

"Sorry." Smokescreen said in embarrassment. "I was just tryin' to get your attention."

"Robots in disguise, rookie, meaning we don't attract attention to ourselves. Next time, hit me on the comm link and let me know when you're nearby and I'll listen for you. Got it?"

"Yeah...my bad."

Arcee didn't have time to school the youngling any further so she pulled out of the garage and allowed Smokescreen to drive in.

"Listen closely, your job right now is to protect the two people in this house."

"I gotcha', Arcee."

"If they're not in any immediate danger, you maintain your alt form and you stay put. No matter how bored you get, you don't leave your post."

"I got it, I got it."

Arcee needed Smokescreen to know how important this was.

"Smokescreen, I am trusting you with the lives of two humans who are very important to me. I've lost two partner already and I don't want Jack to be the third. His mother is just as important, they're both under my protection. If you let anything happen to them while I'm gone..."

Arcee stayed where she was and let Smokescreen's imagination finish the rest of that sentence. Though he was in his alt form, she could tell her words had stuck.

"D-don't worry, Arcee. I won't let you down. Your partner's in good servos."

Arcee kept her sights on Smokescreen for a few more seconds and then rode off, back to base.

"Man, she is scary." Smokescreen said to himself. "Don't frag this up, Smokey."

Arcee rode back to Outpost Omega One in a third of the time she would on any normal day. When she entered the base, Ratchet was waiting for her. She transformed once she pulled in.

"Alright, Smokescreen is with Jack. Let's do this."

The medic was still uncertain about this mission.

"Arcee...I feel it's only right that I warn you about this place."

"Ratchet, we don't have time for this. I can handle myself."

"I know that, but what I'm saying is...I don't know what you're going to find in those alleys, but when I went to Rat City, I saw things that made me afraid. Not more myself, of course, but for Jack. There were so many things that were wrong with that place and I couldn't stand the sight of it. I saw children as young as Rafael out on the street with no one watching over them and people prowling around like Decepticons. I wanted to help them, but obviously, I couldn't. It was an...uncomfortable experience. I'm just letting you know what to expect when you get there."

Arcee wasn't too crazy about the mission as is and Ratchet's warning was of no comfort. Ever since meeting the children, the femme grew a soft spot for human younglings. All the Autobots did, in fact. Seeing them exposed with no one to protect them, or worse yet, seeing them in trouble, might make her want to do something about it. This was why Ratchet was warning her, to prepare her to not do anything. That was one of the huge drawbacks of maintaining their secrecy, they couldn't help humans who really needed it, unless they were in trouble with Decepticons.

Ratchet reentered the coordinates of Jack's trip to New York and opened the bridge for Arcee.

"I'll be back before dawn, Ratchet."

"Arcee." Ratchet called.

Arcee stopped and turned to him.

"I know you're doing this to help Jack, but there's a part of me that hopes that what he saw as a child was all in his head. But if it is as he said, be careful. We've never encountered anything like this before. Remember, getting answers for him won't mean a thing if you get offlined in the process. You get in over your head, you get out of there."

Arcee considered Ratchet's words and mentally prepared himself for all he warned her about. She transformed, activated Sadie, and drove through the bridge. Ratchet was left in the main hall, worried for Arcee's safety. As a man of science, everything Jack described should've seemed preposterous to him. But Megatron was able to raised the dead and put them under his control. He and Optimus fought almost to their last breaths in that valley. Who was to say that humans couldn't find ways to do the impossible and touch powers that went against the laws of nature?

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Ratchet was not lying when he told her about this place. The moment she rode out into the open, she saw the decay of the city. It was dark, darker than any slum she had ever rode through. It was late enough that only those with ill intent were out at night. Some people looked to just be trying to make the best out of a bad situation, looking for something to eat or a warm place to sleep, but others were looking for someone to prey on.

Through Jack, Arcee learned about society's underbelly. She knew about drugs and drug dealers, gangs and gangbangers, pimps and prostitutes, stick up kids, and every criminal element in between. It wasn't as if crime hadn't existed on Cybertron, but never to this degree that whole empires could be built on criminal activity and that task forces had to created to take them down, and that was when law enforcement wasn't a part of the very element they were suppose to be protecting the people from. Arcee hated this place and she'd only been there for a few minutes. She wanted to find those alleys, complete her mission and get out of there.

After driving around for a few more minutes, she came upon an alleyway entrance that had been decorated with candles, flowers, and photos of children. This was the place, but then she got a good look at it.

Aside from the assorted offerings by the entrance, it looked no different than any other alley. But Arcee felt something off about it. It seemed darker than all the others, like a shadow had been cast over it or a black cloud loomed above. It felt less like an alleyway and more like the entrance to the Pit of Unicron, or as humans would say, the gates of hell. For the first time, Arcee was reconsidering the mission. But if this is what she felt just from sitting at the entrance, what did Jack feel when he went in? She strengthened her determination and proceeded with the plan.

Her holoform had gotten off of her alt, but kept her hands on the bars. She couldn't ride through the alleys and not raise more suspicion than she already would just by being there, so she would appear to be a rider walking her bike through. As she was about to enter, she felt something behind her. Sadie turned to look, but Arcee didn't see anything. She knew she felt something. Whatever it was, it had a dark presence...and it watching her. Arcee braced herself and walked into the dark alley. Her intuitions were right because she _was_ being watched. The clown faced short man who had been watching Jack was hiding in the alleys across the street, looking none too happy about this new intruder.

"Now, who hell is this bitch comin' into these alleys. I don't know what the hell you are, lady, but your pretty ass don't belong here."

The clown man crushed the can of old corn he had been eating out of and tossed it on the ground.

"This is all because of that little choir boy, ain't it? I knew he was gonna be a problem. What the fuck did he bring to our door step?"

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 **Been a while since I updated this story.**

 **Okay, so some of this may feel familiar to you if you've been reading Old Nightmare. Once again, I've got Jack wrestling with some demons and Arcee worrying about him. Like I said in my previous chapters, this story will go to some dark places. But as far as the angst goes, I won't be going as deep as I did in Old Nightmare with Jack and his father. But Jack went through some shit last chapter and he's just dealing with it now. On top of that, more people know about his past than he wished.**

 **Throughout the chapter, I've made a lot of references to the Spawn series and a few characters in the comic. Don't worry, you're not missing anything important yet. If I do write these characters in, I will explain who they are for those unfamiliar with Spawn. Oh, and the stupid decision that Arcee spoke of with Smokescreen and Jack was what happened with the Star Saber. It's something of a "noodle incident" we won't really learn any more about.  
**

 **So, I introduced Sam & Twitch properly this issue along with Chief Banks and Jason Wynn. I'm not sure about Banks, but Twitch, Sam, and Wynn will have a part to play in the story, just not right now. I brought them in because I was following what happened in the show after Chapel's encounter with Spawn. I have plans for him in the future as well.**

 **So with Jack going through his troubles, Arcee's ready to take things into her own hands. Now she's in Rat City, ready to confront the man himself in his territory. How do you she's gonna handle seeing a Hellspawn's power up close? And to make matters worse, Clown is still watching, knowing that Arcee's connected to Jack. What's gonna happen when those two eventually cross paths?**

 **So, this story is updated sporadically, so I can't say when I'll get the next chapter up. But I won't go too long without returning. Lost Nightmare and ASOG are my priorities now, but I'm also nearing the last act of the former. Anyways, thanks for the read and I will see you folks later. Peace out.  
**


	4. Chapter 4

When Arcee entered the alleys, the dark feeling that crept into her from the entrance had encompassed her completely. She felt it strongly the moment she rolled her tires into the dark and narrow passage. She couldn't describe what it was she was feeling, nor was it something she could display or even truly see. All she knew was that the feeling of something dark was consuming her and it made her frame cold. There was something in these alleys, something ungodly.

Cybertronians did not possess the ability to smell, but they could trace odors floating around in the air with an accurate knowledge of what it was. There were multiple foul odors in this place, trash, mold, bacteria, sweat, rot, urine and fecal matter, vomit, alcohol, semen, and blood...lots of blood, far greater than any of the other substances. Yes, the cities of Earth were often beacons for violence, but this went beyond any slum Arcee had seen.

"This place...The place is a..."

"Hellhole?" Another voice came from nearby.

Among the many unfortunate souls that lived in this alley, one stood among them and spoke to Arcee. He was an older man with a dark complexion, similar to Agent Fowler. Like many of the other vagrants, he was unkempt and unclean and judging from the odor of his breath, intoxicated, if only slightly.

"Yeah, you got that right, mama. This place is a real shit show. Home sweet home, I guess."

He walked to to Sadie, Arcee's holographic rider.

"Now, why would a sweet little thing like you slum it up in a dump like this?"

Arcee wasn't intimidated by this man, but she was uncomfortable with the way he was looking at her. She could see the lecherous nature in his eyes.

"Normally, I'd tell a wanderer like you to beat it before you bring trouble to these alleys." He said as he scanned Sadie's figure. "But you look like the fun kind of trouble. So wassup, you lookin' for a party, lady?"

Arcee wasn't going to waste time with this creep.

"I'm looking for someone."

"For who, a friend of yours? You got friends right here. Ol' Bobby's here to show you a good time, baby."

"For God's sake, Bobby." Another voice said. "Would you get a hold a yourself, man?"

An older human male walked up to the first vagrant.

"Oh, piss off, Gareb. I'm just talkin' with the lady."

"You're about get yer foot run over. Go sleep it off, ya' drunk. Can't handle your booze worth shit." Gareb said as he pushed Bobby away.

"Fuck you, Gareb." Bobby casually said as he dragged himself from his fellow man, much to Arcee's relief.

"Sorry, Lady. Bobby's a world class asshole at the best of times. He's even worse when he's drunk."

Arcee appreciated that this man, Gareb, didn't seem to want anything from her. He got a good look at her, as in her avatar and her alt.

"Nice bike." He commented genuinely. "Why bring it to a place like this?"

"Like I told your friend, I'm looking for someone."

Gareb sighed as if he had been used to this.

"Look, lady, I don't know if your friend came through here. But if he did, chances are he's not lookin' for a friend."

"I never said he was my friend."

Gareb looked guarded all of a sudden.

"Hey now, if you're lookin' to start trouble..."

"I'm not looking for trouble, I'm looking for answers. Maybe you can help me."

"Listen to me...biker lady, I'm tellin' ya' that this isn't where you want to be snoopin' around in. People come here askin' questions and bad stuff happens to'em. This ain't the place to look for stories."

"Why, because of Spawn?"

"Spawn?" Gareb asked in ignorance that seemed real. "That your friend's name? Hate to tell ya', but ain't no one here by a name like that."

"What about Al?"

Just like that, Gareb's eyes became wide and every vagrant within an ear shot took notice of the name Arcee said, even Bobby from earlier. Several homeless men got up and ran deeper into the alleys, clearly afraid of the name. Bobby came back around, but he didn't look too thrilled with Arcee as he was earlier.

"Who are you, hm?" Bobby asked with hostility, now gripping a glass bottle with clear intent. "You another mob guy, huh? Or are you just another baby murderin' psycho?"

Arcee looked around and she saw another old man, watching her closely. He looked exactly the way Jack described the sagely man who had taken him to Spawn. He looked at Arcee with an expression that was a little too knowing for her comfort.

"You should leave...now." Gareb said. "You're gonna bring trouble to these alleys and we've seen enough of it. Go on, get out of here."

"I'm not going anywhere."

Bobby held the bottle in a threatening manner.

"Girl, you best get your ass outta here like he said. We don't need no more mafia war shit in here. We don't bother nobody and we ain't gon' be pushed around by nobody."

"Take me to Al."

"We ain't gon' tell you again." Bobby threatened.

"I'm warning you... "Gareb said, clearly afraid for his life. "There's more of us here than you. We're tired of people coming in here and raising hell for no reason. You need to leave. Don't make us force you out."

"Take me to Al or I'll raise hell or my own."

Both of them were clearly reluctant to get violent, and they were both afraid of Arcee at the thought of her being a "mob" guy. But whatever fear they were holding on to, they let it go and were ready to go toe to toe with her.

"Gareb, Bobby."

They stopped and looked behind them. The old man had finally stepped forward.

"Old man." Bobby said in surprise.

"The both of you go elsewhere." He said. "I will handle this intruder."

"She's lookin' for Al, Cogs." Gareb said. "She's trouble."

"I know." He said without taking his eyes of of Arcee's avatar. "Leave now. Things may get ugly."

Gareb and Bobby silently debated with themselves if they should leave, but ultimately did as told. The old man waited for them to be out of sight and out of earshot before confronting Arcee. When he turned to face her, he looked at Sadie, but Arcee couldn't help but feel like he saw through her.

"What are you?" He asked.

Arcee rumbled, fearing this old man knew more than he let on.

"What's that suppose to mean?"

The old man stared at Arcee and Sadie, sizing them up.

"You have the appearance of a woman and you are indeed a mortal being of this plain."

He looked away from Sadie and put his eyes squarely on Arcee.

"But you are not of _this_ world."

Arcee couldn't believe it. She was made? That never happened before. How did this guy know she wasn't human? How much did he really know? And what was _his_ deal? Arcee could tell that there was something more to this old man.

"I'll ask again." He continued. "What are you? Where do you come from? And why are you here?"

"I'm here to talk to Spawn." She answered.

"Why?"

"I have a bone to pick with him."

"You seek confrontation with the Hellspawn?"

'Hellspawn?' Arcee thought to herself.

"Then you seek your own death, outsider." He continued. "The Hellspawn is not one to be bothered with grudges. There are corpses in these alleys that serve as proof of that."

"I didn't come here for a fight. I just want answers. Give me that and I'm gone from this place. Trust me, I wouldn't be here if I didn't have to be."

The old man did not answer at first. He was clearly taking in Arcee's reasoning, trying to make sense of her.

"The answers you seek go far beyond your understanding."

"Spare me the cryptics, old man. I've seen way more than most."

"Wherever it is you come from, you know nothing of the Hellspawn or the darkness that created him. Mere mortals have no business meddling with the affairs of his kind."

"So...He's _not_ human."

Neither said anything. Both were in an silent standoff with each other, unwilling to budge.

"Listen, old man." Arcee began. "I _need_ to see this Hellspawn."

"Tell me why?"

"Because..."

Arcee hesitated, unsure if she should reveal any part of the truth.

"A friend of mine sought him out and now...he's scared out of his mind. If I don't get some answers, he'll stay that way."

"So..." The old man said, suddenly understanding. "You're here on behalf of Jackson Darby."

Arcee tensed up, causing Sadie to grip her handlebars. She didn't like that this guy figured out why she was there.

"The boy should not have come here. He was warned not to return. You should heed that warning and leave before you become tainted as he has."

"I can't leave. If I don't bring something back...my friend isn't gonna get better. So either take me to Spawn or get out of my way."

The old man pondered to himself, thinking of what he should do.

"I will take you to him...But I cannot guarantee your safety."

"If he's wants to go, that's fine with me."

"It shouldn't be, but very well. I am Cogliostro."

Unusual name, Arcee thought.

"...Arcee."

"Follow me, Arcee."

Cogliostro led Arcee and Sadie deeper into the darkness of the alley. The femme may have stood her ground, but she was uncertain about what she would come face to face with. But it really didn't matter. This was for Jack and she had to do what she had to do. But she needed to make sure she kept herself online. Getting scrapped by this Hellspawn wouldn't do her partner any good.

As they left the entrance, the clown faced man stepped into the alley and watched them. He was unhappy with Cogliostro taking Arcee to Spawn. He was even more unhappy that she was even there. He was absolutely pissed that she was there because of the kid. The clown man wished that Billy Kincaid had just killed him when he had the chance.

Suddenly, he heard something above him. When he looked up, he saw something large moving on top of the buildings.

"For fuck's sake, another one? That kid's bringin' a lotta goddamn problems to us."

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The deeper they went into the alleys, the darker they became. Were it not for Arcee's enhanced optics, she might not have been able to see in front of her. Most of the odors began to lessen as she continued, though, most likely because the others wouldn't come this deep in the alleys. But the scent of blood was stronger than ever. This was the Spawn's stomping grounds, Arcee realized.

Cogliostro stopped and turned to Arcee. He was giving her a chance to turn back, but she wasn't going to take it. Seeing her stick to her guns, Cogliostro kept on.

"Hellspawn." He called without turning away from Arcee.

"What is it, old man?" A deep and dark voice answered from somewhere above.

"There is...someone who wishes to speak to you."

"I'm not lookin' for conversation."

"She insists."

There was a pause and then...he appeared. He dropped from above them, almost out of nowhere. His form knelt upon landing, giving Arcee very little to make out. But when he stood straight, she began to see what Jack described to her. Shadows and the color red, the glow of his green eyes, the sounds of chains rattling, this was who Jack had met up with, who saved his life, who sent him back scarred mentally, who haunted him even as he slept. His form was not the size of Arcee, had she transformed. But still, she felt his intent, his darkness.

"And what the hell does she want?"

"She would tell better than I."

Spawn sized up Arcee, while she stood her ground. He was the size of a normal human being, but Arcee couldn't help be feel unsure if she could take whatever Spawn was. Jack may not have seen any kind of real combat expertise from this being, but he possessed some kind of power that went against nature. He made Jess Chapel lose his mind. Arcee didn't want to know if he could do the same to a Cybertronian like her.

She could only see the outline of his masked face and the glow of his eyes. They were not like Cybertronian optics, powered through energon. The glow was much more sinister. He narrowed his eyes, as if he too saw through her. She realized that like Cogliostro, he was looking at the bike and not Sadie.

"You're not human." Spawn stated plainly.

"What from I can tell, neither are you, 'Hellspawn'." Arcee replied.

Now, his defenses were up. Just as Jack described, his cape moved as if it were alive, expanding itself like a bat spreading his wings. Suddenly, without taking his eyes off Arcee, an edge of his red cloak shot forward like a blade and went straight through Sadie. The avatar disappeared and Arcee transformed herself. No point remaining in disguise when she had a fight on her servos.

Spawn jumped back as Arcee stood tall and cast her shadow over him. Not to be outdone, he jumped up on a ledge a structure on the building wall, expanding his cloak and his chains threateningly. Arcee armed her blasters and had them on Spawn before he could strike at her again. Cogliostro watched in silence, but for the first time in centuries, he was shocked by what he was seeing.

"Just what the hell are you?" Spawned demanded to know.

"You first, creepy." Arcee answered back.

"Who sent you? Are you another mob cyborg like Overt-kill? You lookin' for payback for Tony Twist?"

Arcee didn't respond to the name she didn't know.

"Or did Jason Wynn send you?"

Arcee didn't answer that either.

"Or...are you with the clown. Is this him fucking with me again?"

"No." Cogliostro answered for her. "She is no agent of Malebolgia. She a mortal being of this realm. Of that, I am certain."

Arcee got tired of these questions that confused her.

"Malebolgia, Tony Twist, Jason Wynn, I don't know any of these people."

"Then why are you here?!" Spawn shouted, fed up with this as she was.

"I'm here for you, Spawn! I wanna know who or what the frag you are!"

Spawn and Arcee stared each other down for a full minute before either said anything. Cogliostro was the first to speak.

"Spawn"

Spawn turned his head to face him.

"She is here because of Jackson Darby."

Unfortunately, that did not settle Spawn as Cogliostro had hoped. He turned back to Arcee, with a much more hostile look than before. Arcee was not quick to react when a pair of chains darted forward and bound her two blasters together. They wrapped tightly enough that it hurt Arcee and it hurt even more when they suddenly jerked upward, lifting her above where Spawn was perched. Another corner of the cloak shot forward and wrapped around Arcee's neck, binding it tightly. Somehow, this clothe cape was strong enough to cut off the circulation of energon from her neck lines. She began to gasp as Spawn pulled her closer.

"Spawn." Cogliostro called. "Stop this."

"Shut the hell up, old man." He spat before turning back to Arcee. "You...What the hell do you want with Jackson Darby?"

Of course, Arcee couldn't answer. Spawn intended to apply some pressure to her to dissuade her from lying when he released her throat.

"Better question, who do you work for that wants him?"

"Spawn, listen to me." Cogliostro cut in. "She is here to help Jackson Darby."

"Bullshit!" Spawn angrily yelled. "What good does coming here for me do Jackson? What do you have planned for him? Tell me, or I will tear you limb from limb!"

Spawn then loosened his grip on her and tossed her back to the ground. She hit the concrete hard, but was not really hurt. However, she struggled with the static pain in her voice box. She groaned to get her voice back. She was not prepared for such an attack. Spawn was much stronger than he appeared. She heard the sound of chains rattling and looked to see them dangling below him in a threatening gesture.

"You have five seconds to answer me, woman." He said coldly.

Arcee stood up, but didn't arm her weapons. If they were going to fight, she needed to be the one to catch him off guard this time. For now, she answered his questions.

"I'm Jack's guardian."

Spawn stared her down for a second and then turned to Cogliostro. Neither were sure of the answer.

"What the hell do you mean 'guardian'?"

"It means, I protect him."

Arcee didn't have to see more than his eyes to know that he didn't believe her. His condescending laugh didn't help.

"Protect him, you say? That's funny...Tell me, where the the hell were you six years ago when a child killer was going to make a pin cushion out of him?"

Arcee hated when someone doubted her ability to protect her partner. Airachnid often did that. She thought for a moment and realized that Jack's kidnapping was before she met up with Cliffjumper and came to Earth through Shockwave's space bridge.

"Six years ago...Sorry, hadn't come to this planet yet."

There was no real need to hide her origins from Spawn at this point. Spawn narrowed his eyes again and laughed just as he did before.

"Aliens...that's good." He said incredulously. "I don't have enough shit to deal with, now the universe has to throw goddamn aliens in the mix. Someone out there must enjoy pissing me off."

"So, you _are_ from another world." Cogliostro stated. "How did Jackson Darby end up involved with a being from another planet?"

"He sat on the wrong bike and got roped into a conflict with others of my kind, ones that don't care about humans. His life was in danger so I became his protector."

"There are more of you?" And intrigued Cogliostro asked.

"I don't care how many of you there are." Spawn cut the conversation short. "You say your Jackson's protector. Then why the hell did you let him come back here in the first place?"

Again, the accusing tone of his voice angered Arcee.

"He went behind my back. I would've never let him come to this slag pit of an alley, had I known what he was up to."

"Seems not knowing almost got him killed." Spawn commented very condescendingly.

"Hey, listen to me you fraggin' creep..."

"No, you listen to me, whatever the fuck you are! If it weren't for me, your friend would've ended up with a bullet in his head. I saved him from that fat bastard six years ago. And you let him slip by you to come back to this hellhole and nearly get himself killed. **You** should've kept him away from these alleys. If you're his guardian like you say, then you shouldn't even be here. You should be with him, **protecting him**."

Even though she left Jack in the care of Smokescreen, Arcee hated that she agreed with Spawn.

"Instead of trying to solve whatever mystery you think is down here, go back and look after your kid. And **never** come back here. Consider this your only warning, Marvin."

Spawn pulled his chains back up and stood straight, waiting for Arcee to leave. But she hadn't gotten any closer to figuring this out then yesterday. But she had a feeling that a fight with this being in this alley with so many humans would not go her way. Still, she didn't want to leave without any answers for Jack.

"Look...Spawn. I just want to help Jack get past whatever happened here last night. He's scared."

Surprisingly, Spawn didn't seem to have a retort to that.

"He's just wants to know who you really are...He wants to know who saved him."

Once again, Spawn didn't reply maliciously. He was quiet, like he was thinking. Maybe, he would give Arcee the slightest bit of information.

"The truth...The truth wouldn't do a damn thing for him...He shouldn't have been here to see what he saw. He didn't belong here...and neither do you."

Spawn turned his back and jumped into the darkness of the buildings.

"I want you out of my alleys." He yelled from the void.

Arcee was left standing there, defeated. She hadn't learned a thing and Jack was no better off.

"What he says is true, Arcee." Cogliostro stated. "The truth is far more disturbing than you can imagine. If you knew, if Jackson knew, neither of you would find comfort in the truth. Jackson will have to live with what he saw for the rest of his life. I'm sorry...There is nothing Spawn nor I can do for him."

Cogliostro took his leave and Arcee reluctantly transformed, forming Sadie again. Nothing good came from tonight. She left Jack in the servos of a less than ideal rookie and gained nothing from the risk. Come tomorrow, Jack would still be afraid, still withdrawn. Her only option would be to comfort him as best as she could and hope that time would heal his scars.

The worst of it was how Spawn had criticized her as Jack's guardian. Some of his words struck deeper than she had wished. She didn't like that he was right about her letting Jack slip through her digits and going back there in the first place. She didn't like this Spawn guy one bit. But he made a point and she had to make peace with that.

But she had to wonder why. Why was Spawn so critical of her abilities at all? What did he give a scrap about how she handled someone he took pity on and didn't care for when he returned? Who was Spawn to even tell her how to handle her partner, even if he did make some good points?

"I don't get this guy." She said to herself.

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Arcee was nearing the entrance of the alley where she had met up with Cogliostro. She felt very defeated with her lack of any new information. She was tempted to go back and try her luck with Spawn again, even if it might end with another fight. But the truth was, she'd had enough of these alleys. She couldn't take being in this place any longer. On top of that, she really didn't want to see what else Spawn could do. What little she saw was enough to unnerve her. Plus, it wasn't everything Jack described. He was holding back and she was reluctant to see how much. She turned the corner and contacted Ratchet through the comm link. He had to have been worried about her this whole time.

"Ratchet, do you copy?"

 _"Arcee...Thank Primus, I was beginning to worry. Are you alright? Have you been harmed?"_

"I'm fine, Ratchet. I'm just about ready to come home."

 _"Well, that's certainly good to hear. Any longer and I would've had to send Optimus to come get you. Did you find what you were looking for?"_

"Yes...I did."

 _"And did you get the answers you needed?"_

Arcee's feelings on the matter caused Sadie to lower her head.

"Afraid not, Ratchet."

Ratchet didn't answer for a second.

 _"I see...And what does that mean for Jackson?"_

Arcee didn't want to think about what this meant for her partner, at least, not until she got back home.

"We can discuss this when I get back to base. Right now, I just want out these alleys and out of this city."

 _"Alright, then. When you reach the original coordinates I sent you to, contact me again so I can open a bridge."_

"Copy, that."

 _"And...I'm sorry, Arcee. I know you wanted to help Jack by going there. I was too."_

But, Arcee wasn't going to give up just yet.

"We'll figure something out, Ratchet. But it's been a long..."

Arcee then noticed that the alleyway that led to the exit was abandoned, not a single vagrant in sight.

 _"Arcee...Arcee?"_

Arcee looked around, trying to find any movement beside rats and insects. She only now realized that Cogliostro was the last person she had seen on her way out.

 _"Arcee, what's going on?"_

Arcee then heard a muffling voice above her. She looked up and saw something unexpected...and unwelcome.

"Ratchet, I have a situation." She said as she deactivated Sadie and transformed.

 _"What kind of situation?"_

Gareb, Bobby, and about twelve other homeless men and woman hung from the walls of the buildings, encased in sticky cocoons.

"Airachnid." She said through her teeth.

"That's my name."

Arcee turned to see the Decepticon femme in her spider form behind her. She had gotten there without making a sound, Airachnid's specialty. After the night she'd had, this was the last femme Arcee wanted to deal with. As always, the glitch stared her down with that same smirk on her face that Arcee had grown to hate with a passion.

"What the frag are you doing here?"

"The truth? I was waiting for you, well, you or Jack."

That wasn't good. Jack may not have been there, but the fact that she was there for him didn't sit well with Arcee.

"Why?" She asked coldly.

Airachnid took her bipedal and began walking away from Arcee, running her claw against a building as she looked up at her captured prey.

"Do you know that my Jack was here a long time ago? Well, long for a human, anyway."

Arcee really hated the way she named Jack as hers.

"Yes...I do."

Airachnid removed her servo from the wall and examined her claws without giving Arcee much attention, a mocking gesture.

"Earth news is very interesting, so much death and violence and war. Seems the thing this species is most talented at is killing each other. It's all very entertaining."

"Get to the point, Airachnid." Arcee ordered.

The femme looked to Arcee, amused by her impatience.

"Something happened here the night before, a battle that involved an explosion of one of these...pathetic little structures. I was intrigued since such conflicts don't normally occur in cities such as this. But then the man who reported the event spoke of the history of these alleys and mentioned my favorite little human's name."

Of course. Airachnid's obsession with Jack would bring her here if she knew that happened.

"I must say, I didn't think that humans were capable of creating a hunter like this Billy Kincaid. 28 victims that the public knows of? Not bad, for a human. Although, hunting defenseless younglings is hardly a sport in my opinion."

"So, you know about Jack and these alleys." Arcee stated.

"And to think...Billy Kincaid almost made it so that I would've never met Jack. Granted, I'd still have my ship along with all my trophies. But then, I'd have never known the thrill of hunting my most beloved prey of them all. So, I decided to pay these alley a visit, see the place that almost took my Jack away from me when he was just a precious little boy. Adorable picture, by the way. Have you seen it?"

Arcee tried to make sense of it, but she didn't understand why Airachnid would care to come to the alleys just because Jack had been there before.

"So you came here to what, sight see where Jack was almost killed?"

Airachnid hummed in amusement.

"I heard about the explosion and thought you might've been involved, you or one of the Autobots. A battle like that taking place where Jack was almost a victim as a child, that's quite the coincidence. So, I've been waiting for one of you to show up. I was hoping that Jack would come back here as well."

Had she heard the news report the day of the incident, Airachnid would've been there when Jack foolishly went behind Arcee's back. His actions were reckless in more ways than one.

"It's funny. There are so often these human aircrafts in the sky, looking for fugitives, that no one payed any mind to my alt circling these alleys, waiting for you to arrive."

"Well, I hate to break it to you, but Jack isn't here."

Airachnid looked genuinely disappointed to hear that.

"Aw, that's too bad." She feigned sadness before bearing her fangs at Arcee. "I guess I'm just going to have to settle for you instead."

Arcee was at a huge disadvantage. With all the humans in the alleys, she couldn't use her blasters. On top of that, the alleys were horribly narrow and hindered her movement, while Airachnid's spider form allowed her to move more easily through the tight space. As if she read Arcee's mind, Airachnid took her spider form once again.

"Let's play, shall we, Arcee?"

Arcee shifted her arm blades and took her stance.

"Scrap." She said to herself.

Allowing Airachnid the first move, the spider-femme blasted a line of web at Arcee. But Arcee jumped up into the air and kicked at the walls to leap forward, a move Miko referred to as "Rockman X" style. She landed behind Airachnid, but was quickly hit with another line of web. But Arcee had cleverly held her bladed arms up to take the line and quickly cut away at it once they were bound. She leaped forward to cut Airachnid but the femme smirked and fired a blast upwards at one of her captives, Gareb being the unfortunate target.

Arcee stopped and quickly shifted her blaster, firing at the blast to set it off before it got too close. She managed to save Gareb, but with her attention pulled, Airachnid rushed her with a claw to her chassis.

"Ugh, glitch!" Arcee shouted.

Airachnid laughed in response before clawing Arcee's face, forcing her to jump back.

"Looks like I've got the advantage here, Arcee. If only you Autobots learned to stop giving a frag about these humans."

Arcee ran for Airachnid again, but she responded by firing more blasts at her, to which Arcee jumped along the walls to evade. But again, she let herself be distracted, looking behind her to make sure none of the stray shots would hit any bystanders. Thankfully, there were no humans behind her, as far as she could see.

But she felt something at her pede and looked to see she had gotten webbed.

"Oh, no." She said.

Airachnid leaped forward from under her, still holding the line from her palm and went past Arcee. Before she could cut the line, she was yanked and dragged further into the alleys, hitting every dumpster, banging walls, and crashing into rusted firescapes as she was pulled. She was eventually pulled back into the darkness she had just come from and out of sight. Gareb and Bobby had watched the whole thing unfold, trying to figure out just what the hell was going on.

"You know, there was a time when the worst thing we dealt with around here was crackheads." Bobby asked.

"I need a goddamn drink." Gareb responded.

Bobby tried to loosen himself, but to no success, so he gave up.

"You think she gon' run into him?" He asked.

"She's damned if she does."

"And what about the blue one?"

"She was damned the moment she stepped foot in this hellhole." Gareb said grimly. "Just like the rest of us."

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Arcee was dragged into a more open section within the alleys before she was release. She groaned as she got back on her pedes, shaking her helm from what she endured. She looked around and felt the darkness of the alleys creeping back into her. She did not want to be back in the core of this place.

"Sorry for the rough ride. Well, not really." Airachnid's voice was heard. "But I was getting bored in that narrow passage and wanted a real fight. Now you have a little more room to move and no pesky humans to get in the way."

Arcee armed her blasters, but she had no idea where Airachnid was. She scanned the area nervously, fixing her blasters on different locations. Suddenly, another line of web came from the shadows and pulled at one of her blasters. Left open, Airachnid, who was now bipedal, shot forward and drove one of her spider legs into Arcee's shoulder and pinning her to a wall.

"Argh!" Arcee yelled.

Quick to respond, Arcee slashed at Airachnid with her arm blade, but she pulled her leg from Arcee and jumped back to evade. Arcee charged her with both blades out, slashing at her with everything she had. The femme was able to dodge all of her attacks and brought two of her legs down onto Arcee's shoulders. Forcing her on her knees, Airachnid jumped over her and quickly turned to kick her in the helm.

The blow was strong enough to knock Arcee far enough and nearly into stassis lock. It took effort to stand back up, but she was knocked back down with several energon blasts in the back. Airachnid laughed as the smoke obscured Arcee, but she could still see her silhouette lying on the ground.

Arcee worked up the strength to roll on her back and fire at Airachnid with both blasters. But she quickly took her spider-form again and evaded every blast before disappearing in the shadows once more. Arcee stood up and searched the darkness for her opponent.

"I told your partner before, Arcee, I don't like to be bored. And you're making this far too easy for me."

Two web lines shot out behind Arcee and got her in the winglets. She was yanked back and Airachnid jumped into her, embracing her with both arms. Locked around Arcee and holding her in place, Airachnid raked her claws across her chassis. Arcee cried out in pain Airachnid left a deep x mark on her frame that was now leaking energon.

"That looks like it hurts, Arcee."

Arcee headbutted Airachnid and broke free, shifting back her blades and attempting to swing behind her. But Airachnid was too quick and moved away in time, simultaneously stabbing Arcee's lower side with her leg. She only managed the end, but it was still deep enough that when it was pulled, Arcee staggered backwards as energon leaked heavily. The injured femme fell to one knee, clutching her side to stop the leak. She was beginning to feel fatigued now and was also beginning to panic.

"I really fragged myself this time." She berated herself. "Coming here alone was a bad idea."

Airachnid did not attack, relishing the position of power she held.

"I must say that this is quite disappointing, Arcee. You're just not fighting as viciously as you normally do. Has the love between us faded?"

Arcee didn't even have the strength to respond to that...unsettling comment.

"Oh, well. I suppose the anticipation overshadowed presentation in this instance. It was quite the thrill to watch your rage blind you over and over again. But I guess even you've grown tired of the same thing."

Airachnid drew all of her spider legs and began to approach Arcee with the intent to finish her very clear. Arcee was prepared to make a move, even if she didn't have one. She was not going to be offlined in this alley of all places.

"I only wish your partner was here. It was always my intention to take his little head right in front of you, just as I did Tailgate. But I suppose this will have to do."

Arcee didn't see a way out of this and it was beginning to seem like the end for her.

"Stay away from him, Airachnid." Arcee managed to say just as the femme stood over her.

Airachnid knelt in front of Arcee and place her hand under her chin, lifting her helm to see her. Airachnid smiled in triumph.

"I don't think I'll do that, Arcee. Unlike you, I don't expect him to be such a let down. The passion between us burns far too hot for him to disappoint me."

Airachnid ran he thumb over Arcee's lips.

"I'm going to enjoy hunting down my little Jack and starting my collection over with him."

Arcee's optics suddenly went wide, but not for Airachnid.

"Enjoy hunting who?" A dark voice came from behind.

Airachnid turned to the voice behind her and was met with a set chains slamming into her. The femme was suddenly pushed up and backwards until she was up against the wall and in the air. She looked down to the the shadowy red cloak of Spawn staring up at her with his piercing green eyes. She was too confused to question who or what he was. She instead lifted her palm and fired two blasts at her new attacker.

Spawn shielded himself with his cloak, protecting him from the blasts, but he also released his chains, freeing Airachnid. She fell to the ground, but landed on her pedes, no worse for wear. Arcee wasted no time getting out from between them. She stood on the sides, still clutching her wound. She tried her best to painfully pinch the metal together to slow down her energon leak. It sufficed for the moment. Once she was content with her band aid solution, she turned her attention back to Airachnid and Spawn. Now, she was about to see what a Hellspawn could really do.

Airachnid stood back up and looked to her new opponent in intrigue. She had certainly never met an organic like this. From her enhanced optics, he appeared human, but there was something different about him. She looked back to Arcee.

"Another partner of yours?" She asked.

Arcee didn't say anything. Airachnid turned back to Spawn.

"You're an odd one, aren't you? That was an impressive trick you did with those chains. Even more impressive that you managed to get the drop on me."

Spawn was unresponsive, intriguing Airachnid even more.

"Quite the attire you wear, very...unique. You clearly set yourself apart from other humans. Tell me, how did you do that with your chains?"

Again, Spawn was as quiet as the grave.

"Silent type, are you? You're the perfect partner for Arcee there. Unfortunately, she clearly has not informed you of the misfortune she tends to bring to those she takes as partners. I'm afraid you've chosen..."

"Shut the hell up!" He shouted.

Airachnid was taken off guard by Spawn's cut off.

"Excuse me?" She asked incredulously.

"I haven't known you for but a minute and I'm already sick of hearing you talk. Now, **you're** gonna answer some questions for me."

Airachnid couldn't believe the ball bearings on this little fleshy.

"Do you even know what I...

"You mentioned a Jack. Did you mean Jackson Darby?" Spawn cut her off again.

This annoyed Airachnid, but also piqued her curiosity.

"Yes...I did."

"You wish to hunt him. Why?"

Airachnid to smile. She crossed her arm, matter of factly.

"My Jack destroyed some things that were very dear to me, my way off this ball of dirt, and the fruits of my hard work across the galaxy. You could say I've been smitten with him ever since."

Spawn did not respond, once again. Arcee had a feeling he didn't appreciate Airachnid's answer.

"What's _your_ connection to my Jack?" Airachnid asked.

Spawned narrowed his eyes.

"None of your goddamn business."

Spawn then expanded his cloak, which was enough to put Airachnid on defense. She knew this human was different and capable of catching her off guard. Spawn shot out his chains again, but Airachnid was ready and jumped out of the way. Going for her spider form, she fired at him with her palms, but he too jumped backwards and dodged them. With unnatural agility, he jumped up onto the structures of one of the buildings, staring down at Airachnid. She couldn't help but notice at how well he blended in with the shadows, as if he was a a part of them.

She then fired a line of web at him, which caught him in the center of his chest.

"I got you." She said in a sultry toned.

Spawn's cloak came to life and as if the edges were razor sharp, sliced right the the web. Airachnid was caught by surprise at the things this human could do. Spawn shot his cape out again, directly at Airachnid. She jumped out of the way and onto the building walls herself. Spawn followed her with his dark green gaze and began whipping his chains at wherever she landed. But Airachnid, with as great agility as he, dodged them with ease. She was intrigued at how his chains tore through concrete so easily. She then jumped into the air, which Spawn attempted to strike at her with both his chains and cape before she landed. But before they could reach her, she shot her web into an open space in the buildings and pulled herself into the shadows and out of the path of his attack. Once Spawn pulled them back, she was out of sight.

Spawn scanned the area for movement. Airachnid may have been a predator, but the shadows of the alleys belonged to the Hellspawn. Suddenly, two blasts of energon shot from darkness on Spawn's level, but they were aimed at Arcee, not him. Instinctively, Spawn's cloak shot for the femme and wrapped around her frame. Even with her size and weight, she was pulled from out the line of fire with ease, though she was slammed into a wall when he released her. Spawn saw that she was alright and turned his attention back to where the blasts came from.

He turned to see two lines of web stick to him again and before he could cut them, he was pulled from his position and thrown against the pillar between two arched doorways. A third line of web came from the darkness and bound him, along with his cloak to the pillar, holding him in place. Airachnid stepped out of the shadows, smirking at her victory. She took her bipedal form and sauntered towards he defeated foe.

"I must say, human, you put up a very impressive fight, unlike a certain femme I know."

Arcee tried to stand up and shift her blaster. As unkind as Spawn was to her and Jack, he still saved her spark from Airachnid. But by now, even with her wound pinched shut, she had lost too much energon. She didn't have the strength to fight hand to hand and energon blasts would put her into stasis lock. She needed to think of a way to get Airachnid away from Spawn, free him, and get out of there. But even then, she'd be leaving the vagrants and Cogliostro at her mercy. She didn't know what to do.

Airachnid walked up to Spawn in pure curiosity, kneeling to get a better look at him. To his credit, Spawn didn't seem to care at all that he was at her mercy.

"Tell me, strange human." Airachnid began.

She then pinched the top of Spawn's mask.

"Why do you hide your face?"

With that, she pulled his mask off and then recoiled in shock. Arcee reacted similarly. Jack was not lying when he talked about Spawn's face. It was burnt and decayed, as if it were that of a long dead corpse. Arcee was horrified, while Airachnid was disgusted, although intrigued.

"By the Allspark." She said in shock. "You are by far the most unsightly organic I have ever seen."

As if a scientist observing a specimen, Airachnid looked over Spawn's face from several positions.

"Your face...it's as if...it's as if your face has decomposed. You resemble that of an organic who has expired and decayed back into the dirt."

She got very close to Spawn's face, which angered him greatly. She pulled away after a moment.

"Yes, you also possess the odor of the deceased. You even have larvae consuming the rot of your face. Tell me, how does that happen? I've never seen an organic such as you."

Arcee knew what Jack had told her and this only pushed that notion further.

"He's dead." Arcee said to herself.

"You are, without a doubt, the most interesting organic being I've seen throughout my travels." Airachnid said in almost excitement. "It'd be a crime against nature to snuff out something so rare."

Airachnid pondered while Spawn said nothing.

"I think...I think I'll keep you. I'm not sure If I would call you a pet, but rather, an oddity for me to observe...and admire. You are quite the enigma and I would really like to figure you out."

Her sadistic smirk returned and Spawn became angry again.

"And since you seem so interested in my darling, Jack, I'll allow you the honor of watching me take his head."

Spawn looked directly at Airachnid with pure hatred in his green eyes. Arcee noticed this.

"You can watch me have my fun with him before that as well. Since I won't get the pleasure of ending his life in front of Arcee there, I can enjoy watching you squirm while I hurt him in ways neither of you can imagine."

Arcee saw his eyes get brighter and she recognized something in him that she had seen in herself. But she didn't have time to think on that right then, because Spawn made his move.

Spawn's cloak may have been bound, but his chains were not. They went behind him and around the pillar, then struck the stone and broke it apart, freeing him. Airachnid was taken by surprise and struck her spider leg at him, but Spawn jumped backwards and vanished into the shadows. She quickly fired away at where he disappeared, but she knew she didn't hit anything.

Now, she was really impressed with Spawn's stealthy abilities. It wasn't often that one could match her predatory skills. She kept her guard up and scanned the buildings around her, waiting for Spawn to make his next move.

"Do you know what hell is?" His voice echoed.

"I can't say that I do, strange human."

"Hell is a place in the afterlife, reserved for those such as me."

"And what are you, exactly?"

There was no answer, not right away at least.

"I'm a sinner, a killer, damned."

Airachnid turned behind her suddenly, hearing the sounds of chains. But there was nothing to her back. She narrowed her optics, wondering if she had really heard anything at all.

"When people like me die, our souls descend into hell. There, we suffer the pain of our sins through an eternity of fire and torment. The demons of hell rip our bodies apart and burn away our flesh...to punish us for those we've cheated, harmed, and killed in life."

"Hm...That sounds an awful lot like the Pit of Unicron."

"Maybe it's the same place."

Airachnid turned again, swearing the voice came behind her. But again, there was nothing there. This was beginning to unsettle her.

"Maybe both our worlds share the same damnation. But then again, I don't remember seeing any robots like you."

Airachnid smirked in amusement.

"Are you saying you've been to this... _hell_ you speak of? And how does a human manage see the afterlife without dying?"

"He doesn't." Airachnid heard the voice behind her.

She turned and saw the Hellspawn jumping towards her from the shadows. Purely out of reaction, she shot forward one of her legs and impaled Spawn right through his chest. Her leg lodged itself into a building and she saw Spawn hanging her from her appendage. Arcee looked on with shock. She couldn't believe she got him.

Airachnid had to admit, she was caught by surprise and if she was honest, she was a little startled. But in the end, this strange human was just that, a human. Though she was still a little unnerved by the way Spawn spoke to her from the shadows, she had herself a bit of a laugh, albeit, a nervous one. Then she noticed that the blood flowing from his wound and around her leg was not red, but green...and glowing. Once again, she was unnerved.

She heard something. She looked to Spawn and saw his mask forming over his face. He lifted his head and stared her dead in the optics. It was as if he hadn't been run through. Spawn's cloak moved faster than she could follow and sliced off the end of her leg with ease. She screamed in pain and back away as Spawn fell to the ground.

"You'll pay for that, little human!"

She looked from her leaking wound to Spawn, who then pulled the leg from out of his body. To Airachnid and Arcee's horror, his gaping wound closed up on his own, his outfit forming over his burnt flesh.

"By the Blood of Unicron, what are you?" Airachnid asked in shock.

Spawn's cape began to expand, his body shrouded his darkness. He didn't even give her an answer. Like a bullet, Spawn's cloak shot forward and collided with Airachnid. She was forced off her pedes and into a wall. It pulled forward, bringing her with it, and wrapped tightly around her limbs, including her spider legs. She was unable to move. Now, she was getting nervous.

"Release me, human." She ordered.

"Human? Heh heh heh...That's funny...Only an alien would look at a monster like me and still call me a human. But I died once before...and hell stripped me of my humanity."

Spawn tightened his cloak around Airachnid's frame, causing her to groan.

"Since I've been in this shithole, all I've been looking for was some peace and quiet. But people like you keep coming here and keep fucking with me."

As he said the last part, his Spawn became aggressive and he tightened his hold even more."

"And every time you do, I have to put you bastards down and pollute my alleys with your stinking corpses. Then the cops show up and act like assholes and it just keeps happening over and over again."

Spawn brought Airachnid closer to him. Though it still wrapped around her tightly, Spawn was shrouded in his cloak and only his mask could be seen between his large collar, raised all the way up.

"But _you_...you're a special case. You not only came here, all the way from outer space to piss me off, but you threatened Jackson Darby."

Spawn's eyes were like burning lanterns now. Airachnid was beginning to get scared.

"I was going to kill you anyway...But now, I have to make it hurt."

Spawn's cloak opened up and his chains shot out with blinding speed. Each set went and struck Airachnid's bound arms at the shoulder, tearing right through them. Airachnid cried out in pain. His cloak released her severed arms and wrapped around her torso to keep her up. His chains then went around her spider legs, all of them. And with far too much ease, they ripped them right out of her back. Airachnid screamed in excruciating pain as the chains dropped her legs to the ground, next to her arms, before going down to her legs. With no strain at all, her legs were torn from her frame and dropped to the floor.

Energon leaked all over Spawn's cloak and chains and dripped onto the ground where her limbs were discarded. Arcee watched all of this in horror. As often that she imagined the worst ways for Airachnid to be snuffed out, she wished she wasn't there to see it.

Airachnid was weak, moaning from the pain she was in. Spawn lowered her and pulled her closer to where he was almost at arms length. She managed the strength to look at him in defiance. She knew she was going to be offlined, she wouldn't give him the satisfaction of begging for her life or even a quick death. Spawn didn't care, either way.

His chains went around her neck and wrapped it tightly. As they began to choke the life out of her, she bared her denta in anger. As a final act of defiance, she spit acid at his face, which covered him from his to to his shoulders. He pulled back from the sudden assault and the unexpected burning it brought. She smiled, knowing it hurt.

Once it stopped eating away at him, he turned back to her, pissed off as he could be.

"That wasn't a healthy idea." He said.

Suddenly, blades began sprouting along links of the chain, cutting into her neck when they reached her. The blades had sliced open her main energon line and she knew it was over. It'd only be a matter of time before she'd leak out. But Spawn was not so patient.

His chain began grinding again her neck, the blades sawing their way through it. Airachnid choked and gagged as the bladed chains cut deeper and deeper into her neck. Then, Spawn suddenly tightened his chains and they tore through it. Her head popped off with a metallic ripping sound and landed on the ground. Her optics were already out. That was it, Airachnid was dead.

Arcee couldn't believe it. After countless battles that always ended with Airachnid burrowing underground and getting away, Spawn had done what she had been trying to do for vorns. He'd offlined Airachnid. But he wasn't done yet.

An alien had died in these alleys tonight and if word got out, they would be flooded with reporters and investigators and government suits and Spawn would never get his peace. Even worse, if the spider's body ended up in the government's hands, or Jason Wynn's, they could create some very dangerous weapons, ones that could kill him. Spawn didn't want Wynn to have anything to fight against him with when he eventually went after him for his betrayal.

Spawn held his hand up and Arcee saw that it was gloved and clawed, adding to his already inhuman appearance. For a few clicks, nothing happened. Arcee wondered what he was doing. Then, his hand began to glow as his eyes did. A second later, it became engulfed in a green flame.

Arcee pulled back when the flame in his claw ignited. It was bright enough to light up the whole alley and yet, the fire still felt dark. Arcee knew the flame was hot enough to harm, but somehow, she felt as if it was a fire didn't give off any warmth. She wasn't about to get close enough to find out. Spawn stood there with his claw still lit with the swirling, green flame. As it swirled around, it began to grow. Spawn had to lower his hand to his side as the fire got bigger. Then, he pulled his arm back as if he was going to throw the ball of fire like and actual ball. He swung his arm in front of him with him palm opened up. The fire did not leave his hand, but it shot out an equally menacing blaze at what remained of Airachnid.

Arcee felt the heat from where she stood. The moment the flames touched the Cybertronian metal, they began to disintegrate almost instantly. The entire alley was now lit up, almost blindingly. For a brief moment, she was able to see a piece of Airachnid's clawed servo that was not yet touched by the flames. Once the fire spread to it, it turned black and disappeared.

Spawn pulled back his hand and the flame was extinguished, but the fire still burned. After a few seconds, the green of it faded and it became a normal orange fire. She could already see the blaze getting smaller by the second. She didn't notice that Spawn had moved, not until he dropped right in front of her, causing her to ignore her injuries and move away in panic.

Spawn stared up at her. Just as before, only his eyes, cloak, and the sides of his mask were visible through the shadows.

"Your business here is done, alien." Spawn said calmly, but cold. "I've killed one of your enemies...Go your way now, Arcee...And never let Jackson return."

Spawn moved so quickly, it was if he hadn't jumped so much as flowed up to the top of one of the buildings. Arcee looked up to see his silhouette in the night sky, his came flowing to his side, and his deadly eyes looking down at her.

"Or I **will** come for you."

With that, Spawn disappeared above the building and Arcee took his words to heart. She was not going to spend another nano-click in this Primus forsaken place. And after what she had just witnessed, she wasn't going to push her luck with Spawn either. Arcee transformed and activated Sadie and rode out those alleys as fast as she could.

Cogliostro stepped out from behind one of the walls and watched her depart, sympathetic for the femme.

"I tried to warn you, Arcee. The darkness knows you, now. It _will_ remember you."

And he was right, because standing on another rooftop, having seen the whole thing unfold, the clown man was watching himself. He would remember Arcee...and he hadn't forgotten who brought her there.

"Choir boy's gotta be dealt with." He said to no one. "'Fore he fucks up our whole operation."

::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::

Arcee had made it back to the other alley where she had been bridged and called for another one. She transformed and walked through it, happy to be back home and away from the alleys. But when she stepped back into Outpost Omega One, Ratchet wasn't the only one waiting for her. Optimus was standing before her, not at all happy with her.

"Arcee, I demand an explanation." Optimus ordered.

Arcee looked up at Optimus without the willpower to defend her actions.

"I'm sorry, Sir. I made a mistake."

"That is _not_ a sufficient answer." Optimus sternly replied.

"Optimus." Ratchet interrupted. "She's injured."

Optimus looked and saw that her side was indeed leaking energon, along with the claw marks across her chassis. He only knew of one Decepticon who could leave such an injury.

"What happened out there, Arcee?"

By this point, Optimus had noticed that Arcee hadn't looked at either of them but the one time, keeping her helm to the ground. When he asked his question, Arcee held her arm and he looked closely. She was trying to keep from shaking. This was just like when Jack had returned from the alleys.

"Arcee." He said again, much calmer this time.

"Sir, I..."

Her voiced quivered.

"It's been a long night...I just wanna get home to Jack."

Now it was her that Optimus and Ratchet were concerned with. Whatever Jack saw the night before, she had seen it too. Optimus didn't have the spark to press further.

"Very well, Arcee. However, you must allow Ratchet to tend to your injuries. We will discuss this tomorrow."

Arcee nodded her helm. She still hadn't looked at them. Ratchet walked up to her and led her to the med bay. Optimus watched them go, very concerned about what was happening. He did not doubt the stories Jack had told as a child. He believed in a strange being with strange abilities living in the alleys of Rat City. But while it was one thing for an adolescent human to be frightened by whatever happened there, it was quite another for a adult Cybertronian to be unnerved as Arcee was, especially a hardened femme such as her. The mystery surrounding these alleys and this Sad Man were quickly becoming something Optimus could not ignore.

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Spawn had released the bums from the alien spider's cocoons. They were all unsettled by the whole thing, especially the knowledge of aliens existing. But other than that, they were unharmed. Spawn retreated back into his secluded section of the alleys, where the bums dared not intrude. The night had left him exhausted. He had used up precious ectoplasm to kill off the spider. Now, he was a step closer back to hell. He sat on an old crate to get his strength back.

"Ya' gettin' soft, Spawny." A voice was heard.

Spawn growled lowly. He knew the voice. It was that goddamned degenerate who called himself Clown. He had been an unwanted voice in his ear ever since he had woken up in the alleys.

"I'm in no mood for your shit, fat boy."

Clown tossed the bottle of Jim Beam he had been drinking against the wall in anger.

"I don't give a fat rat's garbage shittin' asshole about what mood yer' in, crispy man! That was some shameful fuckin' shit I just saw out there."

"What the hell are you on about, clown?"

Spawn called him clown, but not by name, by insult.

"I'm talkin' about lettin' the motorcycle bitch stroll out here like she didn't trespass on your turf."

"Motorcycle didn't a damn thing to me, besides wasting my time."

"You shoulda' killed the robot alien lady, Spawn. That's what you do. It's what you are. You're a Hellspawn! A resurrected career **killah**!"

"Unless you want me to show you what a killer I am, you had better get the fuck away from me."

"Ooooohh, you." Clown said through his teeth as he pointed at Spawn.

Clown walked over to a rat digging through a garbage can and snapped its neck.

"Fuckin' got me stress eatin' over here. Not even gonna cook this bitch." He muttered to himself.

Clown then dug his teeth into the rats corpse and stuffed his face without a care of what he was eating.

"This is all because of your little pet you keep having yer period over, Spawn. That kid is fuckin' with your head, making you think your still human." He said with his mouth full.

Spawn looked at Clown with hostility.

"You better hope the alien biker chick keeps little Jackie boy away from here because if he ever comes back..."

Spawn loomed over to Clown, who turned around and met him head on. Though he was much shorter than Spawn, he glared up at him with a devilish smile.

"What? The fuck you gonna do, char-baby?" Clown dared.

Spawn's cloak expanded, as if ready to strike.

"What, you wanna play with my better half? That didn't go so well for you last time, did it?" Clown boasted.

"Stay away from Jackson." Spawn threatened.

Clown chuckled in response.

"You ain't gonna do shit, Spawny. You ain't no hero. You're Malebolgia's little deep fried bitch."

The two were seconds away from tearing each other apart. But then, Clown looked away suddenly, as if he'd heard something. Then, he turned his back.

"Ah, fuck you, crispy." He said as he walked away. "I got other business I gotta take care of."

Spawn calmed himself down and let Clown go his way. But he stopped before he was gone.

"You got a part to play in this war, Spawn. I'm gonna say this one last time...Get with the **fuckin'** program, before I hafta Violate you a second time."

The Clown left Spawn's area and disappeared into parts unknown. This was why Spawn didn't want either Jack nor Cyan to ever return to these allies. This was a world they didn't belong in. Even in a world with aliens and robots, they were both safer than in these allies. He couldn't let them be consumed by the devil like he was. Unlike him, they were innocent, pure, undeserving of the curse he lived with.

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Ratchet was just about finished patching up Arcee's wound on her side. She had said nothing during the entire procedure. She didn't want to think about the night she had, the things she'd seen. Even though she was free of a shadow that had been looming over her since the death of Tailgate, she couldn't take comfort in it. The only thing that gave her a small amount of comfort was that she was able to figure Spawn out. She still didn't know what he was, if he was really dead, or how he came back. But if she had realized anything during his battle with Airachnid was that Spawn cared about Jack.

Jack said that he claimed to have only saved him out of pity. But the way he moved in on Airachnid when she mentioned his name, the way he looked at her when she talked about killing him, the way he took her out, even calling Arcee out on letting him go to the alleys, that could only have come from someone who wanted to protect someone else. Spawn was harsh, cruel even. He had said some hurtful things to keep Jackson away from the alleys. He may not have been as Jack remembered, but he still wanted to keep him safe, enough to kill someone who intended to hurt him. Maybe with that, Jack could feel a little less afraid.

"You're finished, Arcee." Ratchet said.

"Thank you." She replied lowly without looking at him.

Arcee walked towards the tunnel entrance, ready to head home.

"Arcee." Ratchet called.

Arcee stopped but didn't turn.

"What happened in those alleys?"

Arcee didn't want to talk about what happened, but she gave him the abridged version.

"I saw him...The Sad Man."

"The...Sad Man?" Ratchet questioned.

"The one who saved Jack...Then Airachnid showed up. We fought, I lost...Then he killed her."

Ratchet was left in shock.

"The... _Sad Man_? _He_ killed her."

"Yeah...Spawn killed her. Put her out of my misery."

Ratchet was about to question her further, but Arcee transformed and rode off back to Jack's home. Ratchet couldn't believe what he had just heard. Airachnid was dead and it was a human that killed her? Optimus walked up beside him, having heard their conversation.

"Do you believe that's how it happened, Optimus, a human killing Airachnid?"

"No."

Ratchet looked at Optimus in confusion.

"Whoever Spawn is...I do not believe he is human."

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 **How Dare You! By what right do you have to trespass into my realm?**

 **...**

 **You have your souls, your sinners and damned. She is a corrupted femme of Primus. Her spark belongs to me. Her punishment is to be melted down and rebuilt in my Pit, not to burn in your Hell!**

 **Enough, Unicron!**

 **...**

 **The child of Primus expired on Earth, my dominion, and was killed by one of my Hellspawns. Her soul rightfully belongs to me.**

 **And pray tell, what use do you have with a Cybertronian femme from another world?**

 **As she is now a damned soul in my underworld, my intentions with her are not your concern. I have a war to wage with the heavens and she is to play a vital role in my victory. That is all you need to know.**

 **I will not forget this, Malebolgia. You now owe a debt to me and I will see it paid. I promise you this.**

 **...**

 **...**

 **...**

 **Clown...The soul has struck a bargain. She will return to a place familiar to her, to the beginning of her path on Earth. Find her, watch her, send her on her mission, and do not let her stray from her task. She must kill Jackson Darby before he corrupts my General any further. Do not fail me!**

::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::

"Hey...Get up, sleepy head."

Her optics opened and she was greeted by a small human with a strange face.

"Sleep well? Good, cuz it's time to go to work."

"Who...who are you?"

The human smiled.

"Hm, I'm the one who's gonna fill in the blanks and tell you what you need to do. You and my boss formed a contract and now you gotta fulfill your end of the bargain."

"Bargain? Contract?...Where am I?"

She looked around and saw the burned down forest she was lying in. She stood up and tried to recollect her latest memory, but her mind was broken and scattered. All this felt familiar to her, this place, this contract the human spoke of. But she couldn't remember her own name. But she knew that whoever she was, she felt different. Her frame was not the same as she remembered.

"What happened to me?" She asked.

"Questions for later, spider girl. Listen, let me ask you somethin'."

She gave the human her attention.

"What you feel when you think about...huntin'?"

For reasons she didn't know, she smiled. She knew what hunting was and for some strange reason, it made her happy.

"I like to hunt." She answered.

"No, shit?" the human replied. "And what about the name, Jackson Darby?"

She knew the name, but not who it belonged to. And yet, the name filled her with mixed feelings. She both hated the name...and loved it.

"Conflicted, ain't we?" the human questioned. "Like you got some kind of raw hatred for the name going up against some perverted thoughts in that metal brain of yours. You hate this kid, but you love to hate him. Ain't that right?"

She felt something stirring in her chassis. His words excited her for some reason.

"I do." She said as much to herself as to the human.

The human chuckled a little.

"Well, that's great. You still got the hots for the kid. Now, all you gotta do is find'em and kill'em."

She couldn't contain herself. She wanted to do it, to find this Jackson Darby and make him suffer.

"Where is he?" She asked.

"It's a long trip...But I know where he is. Little shit wasn't hard to find. Let's go."

The human walked his path and the curious femme followed behind him.

"You're boyfriend's waitin' for us."

 **7:8:8:2**  
 **9:9:9:9**

::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::

 **And there you have it, The Sad Man Chapter 4. Let's get to it, shall we?**  
 **In case you're not sure what's happening, Airachnid is now a Hellspawn and Clown is setting her sights on Jack. There's gonna be some time shifting back and forth next chapter and I'll try to keep it as clear as I can.**  
 **So, Arcee and Spawn meet, face to face. Unfortunately, she didn't get much except some really disturbing imagery to live with. Although, she did see through Spawn's facade and knows that he does care about Jack on some level. Now, to be clear, he feels responsible for Jack after saving him, but he does not love him like he loves Cyan. Had she gone to the alleys, he'd have been a lot kinder to her.**  
 **And we also had the battle between Spawn and Airachnid. If anyone was going to turn the predator-Con herself on her head, it would be Spawn. She didn't stand a chance. But, the whole thing left a mark on Arcee and now both she and Jack are traumatized by what they saw.**  
 **Now that Airachnid has come back as a Hellspawn, how do you think the Autobots are gonna do against her? They know about a Hellspawn's weakness. Things are gonna get pretty serious next chapter.** **Also, fun fact: Frank Welker voiced Malebolgia in the Spawn movie.**  
 **Anyways, I know it's been a long road with my Old Nightmare readers and don't worry, that's up next. But I am excited to get back to this and I hope you guy's will be there when it's up. So, until next time, peace out.  
Side note: Anyone know how to put images in the text? I really want to put the Spawn logo at the end of every chapter.  
**


	5. Chapter 5

"Okay, Al Simmons...1,117 results. That's not gonna work."

It was early in the morning and, at most, an hour before Jack would usually get up for school. He had been up since 3, unable to sleep. Nightmares didn't rob him of it this time, but rather, questions. He had a lot of them and they kept gnawing at his brain, demanding that he find the answers. So, here he was at his computer, looking for them.

"Al Simmons, State of New York...666 results. Really? _Really_?"

Googling the name he had heard in the alleys had always been an option. But at the time, Jack wanted the answers he knew he wouldn't find on the internet, such as what Spawn was supposed to be. But with his second encounter with Spawn bringing more questions and no answers, he decided to give in to an extremely long shot. All he had was the name and a few minor details he had heard Jess Chapel mention.

"Wait a minute...Jess Chapel. Joliet, Illinois State Prison."

0 Results.

"Okay, think. That's probably not even his name, but..."

Jack thought back to that night, reluctantly. He tried to remember even the smallest detail that might give him a clue as to who Al Simmons was. He remembered Chapel talking about orders and everything about him screamed military or ex-military. Marines? Army Ranger like Fowler? Al was killed by his partner under orders from a superior. That sounded an awful lot like black ops government business.

"Al Simmons, United States Government."

And sure enough, there was something that caught Jack's attention.

"Hero Laid To Rest...Albert Francis Simmons." Jack read to himself.

Jack researched further into the article and was drawn into the things he was finding out. This man, Albert Simmons, was apparently a Marine, highly decorated. He was so talented that he became a member of the Presidents secret service where he thwarted an assassination attempt, getting shot in the process. This led him to being recruited by the CIA and from there...

"Blank...That's where your story ends. What were you involved with?"

Jack looked further into Al's death and saw that the official story was questioned by various new outlets. He opened a link to one of those outlets which led him to an old mpeg video of a particularly opinionated anchor giving from a now off air news show called "My View On 2".

 _"LT. Colonel Simmons, who disappeared from public view shorty after the Hinckley incident, was believed to be involved with numerous covert government task forces. Informed sources say that his presence at the same time as Youngblood private security agents was no coincidence. Frankly, this stinks of a government cover up. So, what else is new? Though, I'm sure Lt. Col. Simmons was a man of courage and integrity, it's the Government_ _ **Boy's Club Attitude**_ _that appalls me. Information is given out at their discretion in an almost Hollywood-type fashion, and we all know how movie makers_ _ **never**_ _stretch the truth."_

Jack himself felt something very off about the apparent circumstances of Al Simmons death. And indeed, it all read like a generic action movie script. Jack was ready to lay all the information out and try to piece it all together, but his alarm had gone off.

"Oh, Scrap."

Jack hit his alarm button and forced himself away from what he was doing. This was going to have to go on the back burner for now. However, he knew that his entire day at school, work, even at the base, was going to unfocused as his thoughts would stay with what he was stumbling on to. Until he got back, this would be on his mind.

Jack entered the garage and his partner was waiting for him.

"Hey, Jack."

Jack stopped and looked her at for a moment. There was something off about her. He could hear it in her voice, all two words of it.

"What's up, Arcee?"

"You ready?"

"Yeah...Let's head out."

Jack mounted Arcee's alt and they left for his school. Just as they had been for the last few mornings, the ride was uncomfortably quiet. Only this time, Arcee was as unwilling to speak and Jack didn't know why. Not once did she move her mirrors up to look at him. This concerned Jack, but he had been keeping to himself for days now and he felt that she deserved the same space with whatever was on her mind.

* * *

They came to the school and Jack got off, ready to start his day. He looked back at Arcee, who still seemed a million miles away, even in her alt form.

"I'll see you after school?" Jack asked.

"Yeah...See ya."

Jack smiled, slightly. He turned to leave, but Arcee called to him.

"Jack."

He turned around.

"Hey...Be careful, yeah? I mean...Just, watch your back."

Jack knew exactly why Arcee had become so much more protective and he couldn't blame her at all.

"Always, Arcee. You be careful out there yourself."

"I will. Later, Partner."

"Later."

Arcee rode off and Jack knew he heard the unwillingness in her voice to leave. As it had before, it seemed to come from her usual protective tendencies. But Jack couldn't help but feel Arcee was unwilling to part ways with him for her own comfort as well as his safety. Maybe he would at least ask her if anything was wrong when she picked him up. They were partners, after all.

Jack went into the school, ignoring the same stares and whispers he had dealt with the day prior. No doubt, his classmates were wondering why he skipped. He was so focused on ignoring what was going on, he didn't notice the black helicopter pass over his school.

"That's him, isn't it?"

Airachnid glanced down at Jack from the air. Despite her memory still being in fragments, she recognized him instantly. But she wasn't sure of what it was she felt in her spark at the sight him.

"There he is." Her clown passenger noted. "The little alter boy himself, Jackson Motherfuckin' Darby."

"He's young...I remember feeling a way about that." Airachnid said.

"Yeah, I'll bet you're feelin' alotta things when you look at that little sweet boy. You want to gut'em like a trout and wear his insides for a necklace."

The thought excited Airachnid to the point of almost arousal.

"You can't tell if you want to watch'em bleed or pop his cherry."

"Pop his...cherry?"

"You want the boy, in more ways than one."

"I do...I really do."

Airachnid couldn't contain herself. She was ready to land and chase Jack Darby down right there.

"Hold your horses, sister. Darby boy ain't goin' nowhere. Besides, we don't wanna draw attention to ourselves. And I bet that when you play with sweet ass down there, you want to make it last, right? You want to make it intimate."

"Hm, that sounds...thrilling."

"Well, ain't no point in goin' in there and havin' to rush things. We'll wait until we can get the kid by himself so you can take your sweet time with it. We'll just stay close until he's on the move. Think you can handle that?"

"If I must."

"Good girl."

But Airachnid was itching to get to her prey. This all felt very familiar to her, the thrill of the hunt. But hunting Jackson Darby, this felt special to her. _He_ felt special. Whoever he was, whatever he'd done, he had left his mark on her. He had done something to her that begged for her affections, unpleasant for him as they may be.

'Wait for me, little one. We'll play soon enough. I look forward to it. I'll make sure you enjoy it.'

* * *

Jack was a little bit more prepared for the unwanted attention he had been getting yesterday, that didn't mean it wasn't hard to ignore. Everywhere he turned, someone was pointing at him, whispering something to someone else, all curious and full of questions. Jack didn't want to answer a single one. This was the problem with living in a small town, everyone was in everybody's business. Times like this, he missed New York.

Jack was exchanging a few books out of his locker when Sierra walked up beside him.

"Hey, Jack."

Again, he really hated that being kidnapped was the reason Sierra was talking to him.

"Hey."

He didn't want to be rude, but he had a feeling of what the topic of the day was going to be.

"So...What happened to you yesterday?"

Jack sighed and let his head fall.

"I...I wasn't feeling well."

"I mean, we had just talked and then, you're a no show in chemistry. One of my friends said she saw you leaving after first period. That's not like you, Jack. You barely miss class at all. I mean, you might sleep through it, but..."

"I just needed to be...anywhere but here."

"Because of the rumors?"

Jack stopped what he was doing, not really wanting to know, but...

"What rumors?"

Jack looked at Sierra who appeared to have been caught off guard. She must've expected him to know what she was talking about.

"Uh...Um..."

Sierra was like a deer in headlights, unsure of what to say. Jack figured that whatever was being said about him, she didn't want to be the one to tell him.

"You know, it's really not important." She said. "I just wanted to make sure you're okay...Are you?"

"I'll be better when everyone forgets I exist again." He muttered bitterly.

Realizing that Sierra had heard him, he backpedaled a little.

"I'm sorry, that wasn't at you. I'm just...processing. This is all news to everyone but me. I've been through all this already. It wasn't great then either."

"I wouldn't think so."

"I'm just waiting for this whole thing to blow over and become yesterday's news."

"You don't have to apologize, Jack. This has got to be annoying to you. I'm still here if you wanna talk."

"Thanks, Sierra."

First bell rung and the two parted ways. Sierra was being nice and Jack appreciated the kindness. But until this whole business was forgotten, school was going to be more of a hassle than it already was. To make matters worse, the halls were where he dealt with the stares and the murmuring. Class was where he dealt with everything that'd happened recently. He hadn't forgotten what he had learned this morning and his mind was still filled with questions.

* * *

"Jackson...Jackson Darby... _The school's on fire, Jack. Run, now._ "

 **SLAM!**

Jack was brought back to the present at the sound of a thick textbook hitting his desk hard. When he looked up, he saw his art history teacher standing impatiently over him.

"You do know where you are right now, don't you Mr. Darby?"

"Ms. Villar...Yes, Ma'am."

"Could that place be school?"

"Yes."

"Specifically, _my_ classroom?"

"Yes, Ma'am."

"Are you done daydreaming?"

"Ma'am."

"Can I expect your undivided attention?"

"Yes, Ma'am."

"Well, _thank you_ very much. Focus, Mr. Darby. You're on the verge of failing my class as is."

"Yes, Ms. Villar."

"Now, as I was saying. Basquiat's artwork was very reflective of his environment and his upbringing. He had spent some of his young adult life homeless, which had also contributed to the nature of his art. Before his death in 1988, Jean-Michel Basquiat was considered to be an artist of the streets."

Jack tried his best to remain focused, but his brain kept bouncing back and forth between all that he had learned about Al Simmons and what happened in the alleys two days ago. He still had no idea what became of Jess Chapel and in truth, he was too scared to find out.

* * *

When class finally ended, Jack left the classroom with a distracted mind. He didn't even notice one student watching leave with intent to bother him.

As he walked the halls, the student met up with a few friends and he turned his attention back to Jack.

"Are you still with us, Mr. Darby?" He mockingly said.

Jack ignored him and kept walking, but the student followed him. This was Curtis Baker, another full time student tormentor, but of a different breed than Vince. Curtis was about less physical bullying and more verbal and emotional abuse. Curtis liked to shout things from across the hall in front of crowds, embarrassing kids and doing anything he could to push their buttons. He liked to show out in front of other people, especially his friends. He enjoyed it, picking at people, hoping to make them break. He wasn't above low blows either and he'd often target kids who were too shy or timid to say or do anything back. He knew better than to run his mouth at someone who would punch him in the face, like Vince.

"Hey Darby, lemme ask you somethin'." The bushy haired teen shouted from the other side of the hall. "Did that ice cream guy do anything _inappropriate_ to you?"

That's exactly what Curtis was known for, the low blows. Nothing of the sort happened, but it was well within the realm of possibility. If it had, it would most certainly be an extremely sensitive topic to Jack. Curtis knew that and didn't care. In fact, he wanted it to be true because it would get the reaction he was looking for.

"C'mon, you can tell us. Did he touch you in a way you didn't want to be touched? Did he make you do things to him? Can you show us on the doll where the ice cream man touched you, Jack?"

He was having the time of his life and while Jack didn't care what he was saying, the fact that he was deliberately trying to trigger him was really making him mad, almost enough to want to confront him. Jack was tempted to. In fact, he was about to. But someone beat him to it.

"What the hell the is wrong with you, Baker?"

Jack knew that voice and turned around to make sure he wasn't hearing things. Shocking as it was, Vince had Curtis with his back against the wall.

"Vince, I was just..."

"You were being a total douchebag is what you were doing. You think that's funny, screwing with someone over something like that?"

Jack couldn't believe what he was seeing. Vince, his bully, was standing up for him?

"What, you think you're impressing anybody with that shit? No one here thinks you're even remotely funny. We all just think you're real pathetic."

Jack looked around and most of the company of other students were looking at Curtis with absolute disgust. Others, however were looking to Jack with sympathy. That's when he realized the rumors Sierra had mentioned. He mentally groaned, knowing that everyone thought he had been abused that way.

Like with Sierra, Jack appreciated being stood up for, but it was putting him back in the spotlight. As ungrateful as it seemed, he just wanted to be out of it. While everyone else was focused on Vince and Curtis, Jack used this chance to slip away into a nearby restroom.

Jack locked himself inside the first stall and sat down to clear his head, seriously considering ditching school again. He heard the door opened and seconds later, heard a knock on his stall.

"Occupied." He said without even raising his head.

"Jack, it's me."

Jack looked up in surprise.

"Sierra?"

He opened the door and saw the worried red head looking at him. He himself was dumbfounded.

"What are you doing? This is the men's room."

"Uuuhhhh, no. This is actually the lady's room you just walked into."

In absolute horror, Jack stepped out of the stall and looked around to see a much cleaner restroom, with no urinals...and a couch against the far wall?

"You guys have a couch? Why do you have a couch?"

"Sometimes, we just need to sit down."

Jack thanked his lucky stars that the bathroom was empty.

"We should probably go, Jack. I don't think the school's goodwill goes this far."

"Agreed."

The two stepped out, hoping no one would notice them leaving together, getting ideas. He had enough rumors surrounding him already.

Sierra walked Jack to his next class. He didn't say much of anything as they walked together. The both of them were too distracted by everyone glancing at the two of them. Jack hoped that Sierra wouldn't get roped into any rumors that were already spreading about him. They stood outside of his classroom, Jack not really wanting to go in just yet.

"So, rumors, huh?" Jack said.

Sierra looked remorsefully at Jack.

"I wish I could say I didn't think they might be true...Did he really..."

"No...Billy Kincaid just wanted to kill me and Cyan. We spent most of the time in the back of his truck while he was being chased by cops. Nothing like that happened."

Of course, Jack wouldn't tell her about Spawn saving him.

"Cyan?" Sierra asked curiously.

"The little girl that was with me."

"Oh...Wow, forgot that there were two survivors. She must go through this every year too, huh?"

"She moved, just like I did. Her school's not small enough that everyone would know who she is."

"Wait...You still talk to her?"

"Online, yeah."

Sierra seemed guarded all of a sudden and Jack was confused as to why.

"Hm...You guys must have a lot to talk about, going through the same stuff and all."

"We try to avoid that topic if we can. She mostly just talks about how boring Peekskill is."

"Still, you two must be close."

"As close as two pen pals can be, at least. Anyway, thanks for walking me to class, Sierra."

"Hey, don't worry about it. I like helping friends out."

Jack was surprised to know that Sierra saw him as a friend. He didn't mind that at all, actually.

"Look, don't let the rumors and all this extra attention get to you, Jack. People have short attention spans anyway. A week, maybe two, some meme or a story gone viral is gonna knock you being kidnapped right off of the front pages. You'll go back to just being..."

"A loser?" Jack joked.

"I was gonna say the guy who beat Vince in a street race and who has a sweet motorcycle...And a hot biker girlfriend."

"That's not-She's not my girlfriend."

"You guy's broke up?" Sierra asked with what sounded like it might have been hope.

"We we're never...nevermind."

"The point is, it'll pass. This'll blow over soon."

"I hope so...I just wish it stayed in the past where it belonged."

"Well, maybe this is the time for you to confront it."

Jack thought of how he tried that and it didn't work, but he understood what Sierra was doing. She was pushing him to move forward. He was beginning to enjoy the attention he was getting from her.

"Anyways, first bell's about to ring. I gotta go."

Sierra gave Jack a smile and touched his arm before departing.

"Thanks again, Sierra."

Sierra looked back, seemingly happy to have been able to help.

"Anytime, Jack."

The first bell rang and Jack worked up the nerve to try and make it through another class, only the second of the day. It was going to be a long one, but Sierra was surprisingly helpful. But he still had too many unanswered questions...and far too many images of Spawn, Chapel, and Amos. Maybe he could ask the 'Bots for help. Maybe Optimus could help him get over this. They already knew about what happened and he knew they were all worried about him. Optimus would help him at the drop of a hat. But then again, there was only so much they could relate to something he'd gone through as a child and he wasn't ready to talk about the previous night in the alley again.

* * *

Arcee wailed against the metallic punching bag in the training room with fierceness and quiet aggression. She was determined to keep herself busy until it was time to get Jack. Staying idle gave her time to think and she wasn't comfortable in her own head at the moment.

Arcee stopped to regain her energy and within a second, she was back in the alley. Airachnid was dead, good riddance to that. Arcee didn't even feel sympathy for how she died, horrific as it was. But she wished she hadn't seen it up close. It was hard to forget the sight of Airachnid's frame disintegrating into dust like that. It was also hard to not remember the heat of that demonic green flame that Spawn had engulfed her with. And it was impossible to forget about Spawn himself.

How could Jack possibly have such a fond memory of this...being? The way he was towards him six years later, towards her and Airachnid. Arcee just couldn't picture a guy like that wanting to protect two children. Then again, he had become so ruthless after he learned that Airachnid wanted to hurt Jack. Maybe his apathy towards the outside world was just an act.

But even still, when she thought about how he withstood being impaled and his wound closing up, the sickly green substance that bled out of him, it made her sick. And his face...Primus was that burned into her processors forever. Was Spawn actually a walking dead man? Who could he have been before his death. Arcee thought of the name Jack had mentioned to her, Al Simmons. Was that who he really was?

Arcee's strength had returned and went back at it against the metal bag. She needed to be in top form. Spawn would've wiped the floor with her if they had gone at it for longer than a few seconds. She had to wonder if he was the only one of his kind, if other creatures from this "hell" place she had heard of roamed this planet as he did. She couldn't help but fear that she couldn't protect herself from them. That meant she couldn't protect Jack. She couldn't have that. Protecting Jack was something she took seriously, ever since accepting him as his partner. She'd lost a planet and two partners before him. She couldn't lose him and would stop at nothing to keep that from happening.

* * *

Jack was sitting alone during his lunch break. He didn't even bother to take his his boxed tofu that his mother had left him. Disgusting as it was, he just didn't have an appetite. He looked up from the table he didn't realizing he was staring at and saw Rafael and Miko sitting next to him.

"Jeez, you look miserable, Jack." Miko said.

"I'm just a little tired." Jack replied.

Miko and Raf got out their lunches, which like always, looked infinitely more appetizing than what he had. Miko had her own bento box that she had made herself and Raf was enjoying empanadas that must've been leftover from his dinner the night before. Jack made a mental note to have dinner at his house one of these days.

"Jack?" Raf called.

"Yeah, Raf?"

"Those rumors aren't true, are they?"

Of course, they would've heard them. And of course, they would be worried.

"No, Raf, they're not true. Everything that happened was said on the news, nothing more than that."

"So, you weren't molested by that sicko?" Miko asked blatantly.

" _Miko_." Raf scolded her.

Miko realized her mistake.

"Sorry." She sheepishly followed.

"No, that didn't happen, Miko."

"Oh...okay, good." She said.

"We're really glad to hear that."

They three sat in uncomfortable silence, but Jack preferred it to an uncomfortable conversation. But, Miko didn't feel the same way.

"How come you never told us, Jack?"

Raf looked to Miko with an expression that begged her not to say anything else.

"Come on, Miko. Jack doesn't want to talk about it."

Miko sighed, but she didn't let up.

"Look...I know I'm not the the best person to wanna open up to. And I know I'm bad at reading signals and don't really respect people's privacy or give them space or whatever. But we're your friends, Jack. I mean, when something's eating you up, you go to your friends for help, right? That's what they're there for. If you were dealing with this, we would've done everything we could to help you because we know you'd do the same for us."

Jack did feel bad about keeping them in the dark about it all, but he had his reasons.

"I know that, Miko. You guys _are_ my friends...and it means a lot that you care about me like this. But, I just didn't want to talk about it. I was ten when it happened and I went through the fallout all through middle school, until we moved to Jasper. I got over it. There was really no reason to go back."

"So, why did you?" Miko followed. "You went back to the alleys. It must've not been as behind you as you thought. Why didn't you ask us to come with you?"

Jack's face became serious.

"No, there was no way I would've let you go there."

"Why, not? Whatever happened, we could've had your back. We're a team, Jack. We can do anything together."

"Not this." Jack very nearly shouted.

He stopped and made sure he hadn't caught the cafeteria's attention. He took a deep breath and explained.

"Miko...There was nothing there you or anyone else could've helped me with. Nothing good would've come out of it. Not even the Autobots could've helped me. I shouldn't have gone back there in the first place."

Now, Jack was back in the alley with the shooting, the explosions, the screaming, and Chapel begging for his help. He didn't realize how disturbed he looked as he thought about it.

"Jack, what happened?" Miko asked with very audible worry.

"...It doesn't matter. I just want to forget that _night_ happened."

"But, Jack..."

"Miko." Raf interrupted. "Leave it alone."

Miko didn't huff or act like a child. She just looked at Jack with strong concern. She wanted to help him, she really did. She felt like a bad friend by not being able to. Jack sat back in his chair, deep in his thoughts, having seemingly forgotten about his two friends. Rafael didn't know what happened in those alley's either. But he did know about the alleys history, so he had a bit of an idea of what Jack might've seen. There was really nothing either of them can do except wait and keep an eye on him. If things got worse, they would have to go to Optimus. If anyone could help Jack, it was him.

* * *

The day was over and Arcee was more than ready to spend some time with her partner, short as it would be. It had been a long day for the both of them. The human Autobot trio walked out of the school together, but Arcee could see that Jack was distant from the other two. He walked up to her, seemingly on auto-pilot.

"Hey, Partner. How was your day?"

"Long."

"Yeah...Same here. K.O.?"

"No...Let's just go to base."

Jack answered without even thinking about it.

"I don't think that's a good idea, Jack. You're gonna end up getting fired."

"I...I don't care."

That shocked Arcee. Jack not caring about his responsibilities, helping his mother? He was worse than she thought.

"Jack, what's wrong? What happened today?"

Jack was about to say something, but Vince came up behind him and got his attention. Arcee was in no mood to watch this glitch spawn bully Jack, especially with all they were both dealing with. But to her surprise, he didn't seem to bear any ill-will towards him.

"Hey, man. If Curtis gives you any more shit, come find me. I've got your back."

Jack seemed appreciative, but not very happy.

"Thanks, Vince."

Vince nodded and left Jack alone.

"What was that about?" Arcee asked.

"That was actually one of the better things that happened today."

"And who's Curtis?"

"An ass."

Arcee didn't press further, knowing Jack didn't want to talk about his day. They all headed off to base, but the ride was super quiet on both ends. Neither Jack nor Arcee seemed willing to talk. When they got to Omega One, Jack dismounted Arcee and they stood there awkwardly, not knowing what to say.

"So...what do you wanna do today, Jack?" Arcee asked.

"I don't know...What do you wanna do?"

"We could take another ride since you're not working today."

Jack didn't seem up for it.

"Actually, I think I'm just gonna walk around the base for a little while."

"Oh...okay. Well, I'll be here if you need me."

"Yeah...thanks."

Jack left Arcee alone as she watched him leave into the corridor. Bumblebee saw their exchange and walked up to her.

 **"Everything good with you two?"**

Arcee turned her attention to Bumblebee.

"Yeah, just...stuff. I'm gonna hit the training room if anyone needs me."

Arcee left the main hall with the same walled off demeanor as Jack. Both Optimus and Ratchet noticed it right away. Optimus was about to follow Arcee to get to the bottom of it, but Ratchet stopped him.

"Let me, Optimus. I think I know what this is about."

Ratchet followed Arcee's path, knowing that it was about her encounter yesterday with Airachnid and "The Sad Man".

* * *

Ratchet walked into the training room, where Arcee was once again burning energy on the unlucky punching bag set up for the team.

"You've been in here all day."

Arcee stopped and looked back at Ratchet.

"You're either working out some aggression or you're trying to get your mind off something." He continued.

"I'm just...staying on top of my form."

"Because of last night?"

Arcee was about to continue her training, but lost the energy at the mention of the night before.

"You were pretty shaken up. Don't suppose you wish to talk about it."

Arcee didn't answer. She sat down against the wall, sipping from a small cube of energon. Ratchet walked up beside her.

"Jack doesn't seem to be doing great either. This 'Spawn' character has you both on edge."

"Yes...he does. But I hope, for Jack's sake, he didn't see what I saw yesterday. He told me what happened...I'm just hoping he didn't leave some of it out to not worry me."

"Jack doesn't deal in half truths. He either tells you everything or nothing."

"I guess you're right."

"What's going on, Arcee? What's eating you up like this?"

Arcee sighed and stood up.

"I'm Jack's guardian, meaning I'm supposed to protect him. If he's going through something bad, I'm the one who's supposed to help him through it. I'm supposed to the set the example. He went back to those alleys when he shouldn't have and now, he's all messed up for it. What did I do? I went to those alleys the very next night and now, I'm all turned around too. I can't help him anymore than I can help myself and the worst part, I have nothing to show for doing something that stupid. I'm supposed to help him learn from his mistakes, not repeat them."

"Arcee, you did what you thought was necessary to help him. I allowed you to go because I thought you would find something that would ease his worry."

"It doesn't matter, Ratchet. I'm back to square one. Not even that, I'm at negative square one. I just...I don't know what to do."

"What exactly happened, Arcee? What did you see when you went to those alleys?"

Arcee's face became cold as she remembered what she saw.

"I saw the Hellspawn...and I saw what he could do."

Ratchet watched her closely, taking in her dark and disturbed expression.

"But he offlined Airachnid...I would think you'd be happy about that."

"Yeah, I would. But, the way it happened..."

"Arcee?"

"Ratchet...Spawn isn't like anything we've ever seen. His strength, his power...his very existence, it defies logic."

Arcee didn't want to elaborate. She had no real desire to revisit the events of last night.

"What does that mean?"

"I don't know, Ratchet...All I know is that what I saw is gonna stay with me until the day my spark goes out. I'll never be able to forget it...no matter how much I want to."

Ratchet understood that Arcee wasn't ready to tell him the details of her mission. For the moment, he let her be.

"Arcee, you're one of the strongest individuals I know. If what happened last night has you this shaken up, I can only imagine how bad it was. I won't push you into talking about it just yet. I wish I could help you and Jack, but I'll leave it in your servos for now."

"Thanks, Ratchet."

"However, I can only do that until I see it affecting your behavior out there in the battlefield. If that happens, you know you'll be a danger to yourself, the team, and of course, Jackson. If it comes to that, I'm sorry, but I'll have to step in...and that means bringing Optimus into this."

"I...I know that, Ratchet. I can keep my head out there, I promise. I just need a little time to come to grips with things. Right now, I'm just trying to figure out another way to help Jack. He's my priority."

"I understand. Just remember what I said."

Arcee nodded and stood back up, going back to her routine with the metal bag. Ratchet watched her for a few seconds and left her to it. Arcee struck at the bag with focused punches. Jack was her first priority. Her own problems would have to come later. But in truth, Jack's troubles was her way of distracting her from her own. Despite being a veteran, even with all that she'd seen, last night was never going to leave her. She was haunted by what Spawn could do to a femme like Airachnid. And of all his supernatural abilities, the green fire stuck with her the most. She could still see the sinister glow of the green flame and Airachnid's frame disintegrating inside of it. The only thing that topped that was watching Tailgate be decapitated and even that was just barely in first place.

"What the frag are you Spawn?" She asked.

* * *

Jack had just come back from the deeper parts of the silo, some of which he wasn't sure even the Autobots had found yet. He had just gotten off the phone with his boss who threatened him with termination if he was a no-show again. Jack responded appropriately, but he truly didn't care about that. Work was the last thing on his mind. Even his crappy day at school was forgotten. The walk through the corridors did nothing but give Jack more time to think up more questions.

The teen was sorely tempted to ask Rafael to hack into government files to find out what he could about Al Simmons. But even though Raf had claimed to have hacked them before, he didn't want to put the kid at risk by having him hack CIA files, which he was sure by this point Al Simmons was connected to. He also didn't want to worry him more than he was already.

Jack needed to get somewhere on this hunt of his before he went crazy or drove someone else crazy. He began making his way back to the main hall, hoping no one would wonder where he had been. When he reached the end of the hallway, he heard the voice of none other than Agent Fowler...and that gave him an idea.

"All I'm saying, Prime, is that the 'Cons have been quiet lately and frankly, my superiors are getting nervous."

"I understand your concern, Agent Fowler and I share your suspicions. But the Nemesis is beyond our reach. We can only be prepared for when they make their next move, whatever that may be."

"I don't like it one bit, Optimus, but I trust you. But I need you to keep your eyes open. That bit of business with Buckethead and his 'zombie army' still keeps me up at night."

"Rest assured, we will not allow such a crisis to befall this planet."

"That's all I need to know, Prime."

Fowler was about to leave but was surprised to see Jack standing near-by.

"Whoa...Where'd you come from, son?"

"Sorry, Agent Fowler, but do you have a minute? I need your help with something."

Fowler was a bit confused, as none of the children had ever asked him for help on anything. If anything, they had helped _him_ far more times.

"Sure, Jack. What can I do for you?"

Jack motioned Fowler back to the couch. Miko wasn't anywhere nearby and Raf was on his laptop at the top of the stairs.

"So, I'm doing a book report on American heroes and legends for my history class. Everyone's going for the easy stuff, Washington, Lincoln, Dr. King, Stonewall. I wanted to do one on a more recent hero."

"Alright, I'm with you so far. Have anyone in mind?"

"Well, I read about this guy who took a bullet for the President and figured he'd be as good a hero as the legends were, but I can't really find much information about him outside of saving the president. His name was Al Simmons."

Fowler looked at Jack in surprise and perhaps a little caution. Jack caught on to it.

"Al Simmons, huh? Yeah, that one definitely counts as a hero alright."

"So, you know him? I figured you might, being in the government for a long time."

Fowler pondered for a moment.

"I know _of_ him, but I can't say I know the man personally."

Jack deflated a bit.

"Simmons was a legend during his time, tends to happen when you jump in front of a bullet for the country's leader. Me and him met in passing a few times, but I never spoke with him in any real length. I mostly knew of him through reputation."

"And what did you hear?"

"Well, before his time in the secret service, Al Simmons was one hell of a soldier. Said to be one the best the Corps had ever seen. Guy moved up the ranks pretty fast, making it all the way to LT. Colonel."

All things Jack had already knew.

"I used to joke that he was the black Captain America, others called him the black Rambo."

Nothing of any real use there.

"Yeah, he had a reputation, alright. We all respected him, especially after saving the President's life. But after that, he got recruited by the CIA right away. Once that happened, we stopped hearing the stories."

"The CIA?"

"Yeah, those guys, the black marker company. Sharpies and paper shredders are as essential to their operations as guns and bullets. Whatever Simmons did for them, it was all top secret. And you know some of the dirty business the CIA gets involved with."

Jack could see the suspicion in Fowler's face.

"Truth be told, I don't like think about it. Simmons earned his hero status and once he died, that became his legacy. I'd rather not know what he might've done for the CIA and tarnish the man's memory."

While Fowler may not have provided much info, he did make Jack realize why his information was so scarce on the internet and why it just stopped after a certain point.

"Sorry, kid. Wish I could be of more help."

"That's fine, Agent Fowler. You've given enough."

"Well, I hope this gets you a good grade. See around, Jack."

"Thanks, Fowler."

Fowler left through the elevator and Jack had a moment to think. Now, he knew what Al Simmons did before he died and he was certain that the CIA had something to do with his murder. He thought about what Chapel had said to Spawn. He mentioned the name Wynn.

"Wynn." Jack said.

But that was just a name and Jack didn't even know if it was a first name or last. Nonetheless, he believed that this Wynn too worked for the CIA and that they ordered the assassination on Al Simmons.

"And they sent his own partner after him." Jack said himself.

That was part of the mystery solved, at least, but still far more to go. The biggest question Jack had most of all was how he came back. If he really is Al Simmons, who died a long time ago, how did he return as Hellspawn?

Fowler left the base in his VTOL aircraft, unaware of the two intruders hiding in the shadows. Airachnid and Clown stepped out into the sunlight. Clown shielded his eyes from the Nevada sun.

"This is why I work in the city. I fuckin' hate the sun."

Airachnid paid him no mind, staring at the ground beneath her, knowing her prey was waiting below.

"He's there."

Clown smiled, pleased with the new Hellspawn's blood lust.

"Yeah, he is, darlin'. And he's waiting for ya."

"He's not alone. There are other humans...and others like me."

"Ain't none of them like you, spider-girl, and ain't none of them can stop ya'. When you get down there, you slaughter every one of them that gets between you and the kid."

Airachnid continued to stare at the ground.

"When you get to him, don't finish it right off the bat. I want you to play with him."

Airachnid looked at Clown, wanting to know what he meant.

"Do it slow, take ya' time. Hurt'em, torture'em, violate him. I want you to defile his very soul. You take'em out quick, he goes straight to heaven and those feathery bastards get what they want. But if you get under the boys skin, make'em hate ya', you taint his soul forever. I want you to break his spirit."

Airachnid was smiling now, eager to get started.

"In fact, kill his friends first. Make'em watch. Show him what true despair means. Once that's done, that light that's been pissing me off about him goes out and he's just another soul for Heaven's fodder. Hell, if you corrupt'em hard enough, he could be one of ours."

Airachnid flexed her claws.

"I'll make him bleed, clown man. I'll make sure he never forgets me."

"Attagirl, and most importantly, have fun."

"I will." She said in breathless voice.

"Well don't keep lover boy waitin', sister. Go show'em some love."

Airachnid forced the elevator doors open and looked down into the dark shaft. She licked her lips in lustful excitement.

" _Here I come, my Jack_." She said lowly.

Airachnid descended into the shaft, seemingly becoming one with the darkness. Clown followed behind her, though not nearly as gracefully.

* * *

Arcee walked up to the platform and met up with Jackson, who was alone on the couch. He was still distancing himself from Rafael and Miko. Arcee walked up behind him, looking at his back with affection. If any good came out of this whole ordeal is that she remembered just how much she cared about Jackson. Learning what she had these past few days, including a close encounter with death and almost never having met him, she really appreciated his presence. She still felt she owed a lot to him for being her anchor through the hard times, beginning with Cliffjumper's death.

She reach out with her digit and affectionately ran it behind his ear. Of course, Jack jumped forward and looked behind him with a bit of panic. Arcee wasn't expecting that reaction, but with what she encountered last night, she understood more than anyone else at base.

"Arcee." Jack said in surprise with a little embarrassed.

Arcee looked back at him with a small smile.

"Hey, Partner."

"Hey...what's up?"

Arcee motioned his to follow her and they walked over to the far wall. Arcee sat down and left space for Jack to sit against he chassis. Clearly being unsure of Arcee's sudden affectionate behavior, Jack slowly did what Arcee wanted and sat against her. When she held him close, she could feel him tense up. This was probably the closest he had even been with another female, besides his mother.

"Arcee, what's gotten into you?" He asked.

"Nothing, Jack...I'm just glad I have you, that's all."

Jack's tension disappeared and he lifted his head to look up at Arcee.

"I'm glad too, but...What's going on?"

Arcee decided that she should at least be straight with her partner about everything. After all, he did fess up to what happened when he went back to Rat City.

"I heard you and Fowler talking earlier. You were asking him about Al Simmons."

"Oh...yeah. I just thought he might have some answers."

"You...you really need those answers, don't you?"

Jack sighed in what was clear exhaustion. He was dealing with a lot these days, ever since the night he went back.

"If I had just stayed away, maybe I wouldn't. I don't know if I'll ever get past this."

Arcee knew the feeling. But she couldn't let Jack lose hope that he would stay this way forever.

"Jack, listen. There's something I need to tell you."

Jack looked up again, seeing the reluctance in Arcee's optics.

"Last night, me and Ratchet..."

Arcee was interrupted by the proximity alarm. Every looked up at the elevator entrance expecting the see Fowler.

"Did Fowler forget something?"

June's Crown Victoria pulled into the tunnel entrance and she stepped out.

"Mom?" Jack said as he came down the steps with Arcee following through the Autobot ramp.

"Hey, sweety." June called.

"Hey...What are you doing here?"

June's face became a little less happy.

"I...I got a call from your school and your job."

Jack looked nervous all of a sudden as he knew what this meant.

"Mom, I can explain."

Arcee was about to intervene and defend her partner, but June held her hand up to stop the both of them.

"It's alright, Jack. I think I know what this is about."

"You do?"

June sighed, looking a bit stressed herself.

"Yeah, people have been asking about you at work, asking if my son is alright. I guess everyone knows the truth now."

Jack was a bit annoyed that this whole thing even got to his mother, but he was relieved that understood.

"You've been acting strange since that day of the anniversary. I'm guessing things have been pretty rough for you in school."

Jack shouldn't have been surprised. No one knew him better than his mother and she was the master at picking up when something was wrong. Who else would _he_ have gotten it from?

"When we get home, I think we..." June turned to Arcee. "As in the three of us, should talk about it. Don't worry, Jack. I'm not angry."

Jack sighed in relief and didn't fight when his mother walked up and hugged him. She held him tightly and released him after a few seconds.

"But no more skipping school, okay?"

"Right, Mom."

Jack was, however, nervous about talking to his mother later, because that meant he was either going to have to tell her the truth about going back to Rat City, or lie to her. Neither seemed like a good idea.

The proximity alarm went off again and everyone turned to Ratchet.

"What the...What's wrong with this thing?" He asked himself.

"Is it Fowler this time?" Miko asked.

"I don't know. I don't see his aircraft."

The sounds of metal doors being pryed opened was heard throughout the main hall and every looked to see what was going on.

"What's that?" Rafael asked in alarm.

"Something's trying to get in." Ratchet answered as he stepped back.

Bumblebee, Bulkhead, and Arcee armed their weapons, melee for Bulkhead and Arcee, and stood in front of the humans for their protection. Whatever was coming through those doors was going to have to get through them first.

The doors finally opened and Arcee heard some familiar tapping sounds. She pushed the thought away as quickly as it came. It couldn't have been her, that'd be impossible.

" _Jaaaacccckkkk, where are you?_ " a disturbingly soft voice called.

Those who knew it, recognized it. But for Ratchet and Arcee, it didn't sink in until she appeared at the rails in her spider form.

" _Is my Jack home? I'd really like for him to come play with me?_ "

While June and Jack looked up in fear, both Ratchet and Arcee were utterly horrified.

"What...how?" Arcee asked in a low voice.

Airachnid stood where she was, scanning the area. She looked different, drastically different. Her frame was dull, faded. It looked like she didn't have a spark of energon flowing through her. Her voice was different. She didn't sound as vicious, or even the slightest bit confident. But what was most off about her was her optics. No longer were they bright violet, but a sickly and dim green. She looked like an offlined frame if Arcee had to compare her to something.

" _Where are you, Jack? Please, don't hide from me._ "

Why was she talking like that, almost like a sparkling? She hopped down from the platform and landed in front of the console. Arcee looked to Bulkhead who gave the human's enough cover to run behind the wall by the corridor unnoticed.

Airachnid stepped forward, but Arcee blocked her path. Airachnid didn't look at her with a shred of hostility or sadism. She looked more curious than anything.

"I know you." She said

Arcee didn't know how to respond to that. This was beyond confusing.

"How are you still alive?" Arcee demanded to know.

Airachnid tilted her helm in puzzlement.

"I saw you die. I saw you get ripped apart by..."

Arcee stopped herself. Jack and June were listening and now was not the time to reveal secrets.

"We're not friends, are we?" Airachnid asked.

Again, she was acting completely different from how she normally did. Her face suddenly became angrier.

"You're hiding my Jack from me. I don't think I like you."

Suddenly, her optics started to glow and Arcee felt a familiar fear in her.

"I think I remember you, now. Yes, I remember...I remember that I hate you!"

Moving faster than she ever could, Airachnid jumped and spun around, whacking Arcee to the ground with her legs. Airachnid hissed at her and was ready to pounce, but was forced back by several blasts from Bulkhead, Bumblebee, and Smokescreen. She was backed into the console, where they held their fire, not wanting to damage the ground bridge controls.

Airachnid hissed at the three of them and leapt forward into the one in the center, Bulkhead. Any other time, Bulkhead would've been able to withstand the weight of Airachnid's smaller frame. But he felt that she was stronger and she knocked him down and pinned him to the ground. Airachnid bare her fangs, a strong desire to bleed the Autobot's lines stirring inside of her.

Bumblebee came up behind her and attempted to pull her off of Bulkhead, but she resisted and was too strong for him. Smokescreen ran up to help him and the two of them managed to pull her off, but they could not control her as she flailed her limbs, nearly throwing them off as she did. Bulkhead got clear of the unusually strong and uncharacteristically aggressive femme while Arcee moved around to where she would be in front of her. When she got a clear shot at her, Arcee ran up and jumped kicked Airachnid right out of her two teammate's grasps and back into the console.

Arcee didn't let up, either. She ran up and began throwing punches and kicks as hard as she could into the intruder, while Airachnid could only continue to be caught off guard by Arcee's assault. Clown had slipped up into the upper platforms and watched the battle unfold beneath him. He was less than impressed with the new Hellspawn.

"C'mon, you damned rookie. You're a fffuckin' Hellspawn, for cryin' out loud. End that blue bitch."

Clown turned his sights to Jack Darby, who watched behind the wall with the others.

"And kill that annoyin' little good boy already."

Arcee kicked Airachnid in the helm and knocked her into the wall next to the console. Airachnid did not fall to the floor, but she was forced to support herself against the wall. She picked herself up and looked at Arcee, who stood there in her fighting stance.

Arcee armed her blades and was confident she could end it all, right there. But when Airachnid stood up, she saw that her frame didn't have a single scratch or dent, not even a bit of energon from her lips. Airachnid didn't even look hurt or weakened. It was as if Arcee hadn't even touched her. Arcee, meanwhile, was a bit winded from the assault and knew she didn't have too many more like it in her. Something wasn't right here. Airachnid was stronger, faster, and more durable. Between all that and her changed appearance, something had happened to her.

"I think I was mistaken." Airachnid said.

Arcee looked confused. She began to wonder why Airachnid was behaving the way she did, acting as if she didn't remember anyone.

"I'm not sure that I ever actually hated you. I certainly didn't like you...but I believed I enjoyed you."

Arcee felt uncomfortable by the implication.

"Yes...I used to play with you often."

Airachnid smiled, almost perversely.

"You amused me. I enjoyed...hurting you, tormenting you...killing those close to you."

As if she remembered something, Airachnid smirked joyously for no real reason.

"Tailgate...why does that name make me happy?"

Arcee bared her denta and attacked Airachnid head on with her blade. But the femme caught it with her bare servo. She smugly smiled and smacked Arcee off to the side with her one of her leg. Arcee fell in front on the humans, who had gone into the hallway, and knew she couldn't let Airachnid see them.

Airachnid pounced at her, but Arcee reacted quick enough was able to counter her to her side, opposite of the kids. Arcee moved quickly, not giving Airachnid the chance to recover and see the kids, and went to punch Airachnid back out of view. But without even looking, Airachnid blocked her punch, twisted her arm, and from under the elbow, painfully forced it upwards. Arcee felt some of her wires tear.

A clawed servo went around her neck and Arcee thought that it was over, but Airachnid stopped suddenly. Arcee saw her face and was shocked to see her...shocked. Airachnid suddenly threw Arcee back to the side and focused on the humans, singling Jack out among them.

"Jack." She said with a very happy, excited even, expression.

"Run!" June cried she pushed the children into hallway, before following behind them.

"Wait!" Airachnid cried as they fled.

Airachnid shot a line of web at the top of the hallway entrance and pulled herself into it. She ran along the ceiling and landed in front of the group, stopping them dead.

"Where are you going?" Airachnid asked.

The terrified group of humans didn't register the way Airachnid was behaving. She looked at them, or rather Jack, with genuine happiness.

"Jack, I've found you."

Instinctively, June stood in front of her son, visibly terrified. But Airachnid seemed happy to see her as well. She even gasped when she noticed her.

"June, you're here too."

June realized how strange Airachnid was acting right away, but didn't let her guard down.

"And you've brought friends."

Miko and Raf got behind June and Jack, knowing full well how sadistic Airachnid was.

"I've been looking for you, Jack. I've come a long way to find you...Now, we can have fun together."

But Airachnid's borderline affectionate expression changed to the one Jack was familiar with, one of sadism.

"Now, we can finish our hunt."

An energon blast shot Airachnid in the face and they turned to see Optimus standing by the entrance. He moved aside and turned his optics to the humans.

"Go, now." He ordered.

The humans wasted no time. Airachnid recovered and saw them fleeing.

"No!" She cried out, as if she actually cared about them.

"Airachnid, you do not belong here." Optimus stated.

Airachnid focused on Optimus and her expression became angrier.

"I _know_ I hate you...Optimus Prime."

Airachnid fired her webbing at Optimus, encasing him instantly, and them rushed him with enough force to knock him over. She saw Bumblebee's alt attempting to leave with the humans, but quickly shot her webs at the entrance.

In another unusual display, her webbing was thick enough to block the entrance and stop bring Bumblebee to stop, as he became stuck within it.

Airachnid took her bipedal form and walked over Optimus.

"Don't run away from me, Jack!" She said in anger.

Again, this isn't how she acted when her prey fled. What was going on with her? She stepped forward, towards Bumblebee and the children, who had exited his alt. Arcee, Bulkhead, Smokescreen, and Ratchet stood in front of them protectively and Airachnid stopped and looked annoyed.

"I'm going to rip all of you to pieces for standing between me and my Jack."

Before any of them could say anything, Optimus came up behind her and ran his wrist blade right through her.

"You will not harm them, Airachnid." He said coldly.

No one threatened the humans, especially June, not when Optimus was around. But then, Optimus noticed something very wrong with what was happening, as did everyone else.

Airachnid's energon, her lifeblood, it wasn't blue. It was green, illuminated, and much thicker than energon. Everyone mentally stepped back by what they were seeing, except for Jack and Arcee. Neither of them could believe it. They knew what her blood looked like and wouldn't let themselves believe it was what they thought it was.

Airachnid turned her head to look at Optimus. Angry, but not in any pain.

"That was rude, Optimus." She said.

Airachnid spun around, ripping her frame though Optimus sword, and drove two of her legs into his shoulders and forced him to the ground. She loomed over him with an annoyed expression. The Autobots moved to help their leader, but they saw the wound inflicted by Optimus, made worse by Airachnid herself. And then, it started to heal.

Before their optics, what should have been a damaging injury began closing up and disappearing altogether. The green substance was absorbed back inside of her and the wound vanished. None of the Autobots could fathom what they just saw. Jack and Arcee were speechless.

"It can't be." Jack said in shock.

Arcee couldn't even manage a sentence. Airachnid looked back at the others, focusing on Jack behind them.

" _Watch closely, Jack. I don't want you to miss a thing_."

She raised her legs and was ready to impale Optimus. Bumblebee acted first, blasting at her with both weapons. Airachnid moved quicker than he, though. She pulled Optimus up with her legs legs she struck him with and moved him in front of her, making him her shield.

Bumblebee ceased fire immediately, allowing Airachnid to kick the Prime into the others, far stronger than she had been before. Bulkhead caught him, leaving Smokescreen and Bumblebee to fire at her again. Arcee was too in shock to take action.

They raised their blasters, but Airachnid was already waiting with her palms open. When she fired her blasts into Smokescreen and Bumblebee, they were as green as her blood, looking more like balls of fire than blasts of energon. And when they hit the scout and new Autobot, the damage they inflicted was that of a pair of smaller fusion cannons. Four blast bombarded Smokescreen and Bumblebee, leaving them smoking and locked in stasis.

"Bee!" Raf cried.

Airachnid stopped and looked at her palm blasters in surprise. She clearly did not expect such a powerful output. She smiled at her new found strength and approached the others, but Bulkhead ran forward and managed to tackle Airachnid, going around her and putting her into a full nelson.

"Yeah, get her, Bulk!" Miko shouted.

"That's enough, Airachnid! Leave'em alone!" Bulkhead shouted.

Airachnid didn't struggle. She merely stretched out her spider limbs, and in a shocking display, contorted them backwards, as if she were double jointed. Airachnid continued to shock everyone, as this seemed like it should've hurt her. She merely smirked as she positioned her legs behind Bulkhead and dug all eight of them into his back. Bulkhead growled in intense pain and was forced to let Airachnid go. Once free, she removed her legs and turned around and kicked him back with her heeled servo.

Bulkhead did not hit the ground and, despite his injuries, went to rush back at Airachnid. He was stopped dead in his tracks with another green blast from her palm to his chassis. He dropped to the floor in stasis lock.

"Bulkhead!" Miko cried out.

Airachnid turned to face Arcee, but was met with Optimus' sword to her face, slicing her from above her optic to her chin. Optimus did not stop there. He continued to slash at her frame rapidly, cutting her with each swipe. Airachnid didn't seem to care to dodge. Optimus saw his opening and drove his blade directly into her spark chamber, which _should've_ killed her.

Airachnid looked down at Optimus' blade, then back up at him, with little more than an annoyed look.

"Honestly." She said.

With only a shove, she pushed Optimus back, pulling his blade from her chassis. Wasting no time, two of Airachnid's legs come from beneath Optimus and pierced his sides. The Prime grunted painfully, knowing that when Airachnid pulled her legs, he would bleed energon heavily. She stepped closer to him until this was very close. He watched as all of her wounds healed on their own. With a complete lack of interest, Airachnid lifted Optimus up and held him above her with her legs. Energon dripped on her face as he Prime stared down at her with a hostile, but pained glare. Energon was coming out the side of his mouth.

"Airachnid!"

Airachnid looked forward and saw Arcee raising her blaster.

"Put him down!"

Airachnid tossed Optimus aside as if he was weightless and he landed roughly by the console. Ratchet ran to his side, hoping to stop his energon flow. Airachnid stood across from Arcee, who held her ground. But she hid the fear she felt very well. She had already figured out what was going on, as did Jack.

"How?" Arcee asked.

"How what?" Airachnid asked back.

"How have you come back?"

"Come back?"

Arcee had to struggle to keep her arm from shaking, she was so scared. Spawn scared her. Airachnid having the same kind of power scared her even more.

"I saw him rip you apart."

"Who?" Airachnid asked with genuine intrigue.

Arcee knew that Jack was listening, but they both needed answers and there was no point in hiding the truth.

"Spawn."

Jack's eyes widened when Arcee said the name. June, Miko, and Rafael noticed this.

"What?" He asked himself, but loudly.

"Jack?" June called to him.

But Jack was too focused on Arcee and Airachnid.

"Spawn...I don't know that name...My mind is...scrambled." Airachnid said.

Arcee remembered the details of that night, of how Airachnid was disintegrated into nothing.

"He wore a red cloak...and a mask."

With those two characteristics, Jack took an uneasy step back.

"What's going on, Jack?" Miko asked him.

"He bore chains and spikes and his eyes were as green as yours. You saw him without his mask. You saw his face." Arcee continued.

Airachnid stopped to think herself and it soon came back to her. For a split second, Arcee saw fear in her optics. But it quickly turned to anger.

"I remember...That human...He...He tore me limb from limb."

Airachnid clenched her servos and she remembered the pain of that night and then looked back to Arcee.

"You were there. You watched it happen."

"I did...I watched you die."

And with that, Jack got the answer he was looking for. Airachnid, who had the same powers as Spawn, she had died according to Arcee. Ignoring the question of when this happened, Jack thought about Spawn, of Al Simmons. Al was killed in the line of duty and Spawn claimed to be him back from the dead.

"He really _is_ dead." Jack said.

"What are you talkin' about, Jack?" Miko asked.

June walked up to her son.

"Who's dead?"

Jack was still trying to process this information.

"The Sad Man."

Miko and Rafael didn't understand what Jack meant, but June did. But what did he have to do with any of this?

"Spawn scorched your remains until their was nothing left. How have you come back? How did you come back like him?"

But Airachnid didn't have the answers either. The Clown man didn't tell her anything other than who she was meant to kill. Said Clown was growing impatient above the rails.

"C'mon, C'mon. Just kill the bitch and finish the job. This is _supposed_ to be a massacre, not a goddamn recap."

"Why are you here, Airachnid?" Arcee asked.

Airachnid looked confused and lost in her own head for a few moments, but eventually she collected herself.

"I'm here because...I made a deal. I came back..."

Airachnid looked behind Arcee and saw who she was there for.

"For Jack."

She suddenly took her spider form and rushed forward, shrugging off blasts from Arcee. Arcee tried to step back as she fired, but was run down by Airachnid and pounced on. Airachnid grabbed her by the throat with both hands, lifted her up, and slammed her into the ground behind her. She jumped on top of her and began clawing a Arcee's face, cutting her up badly.

"Stop!"

Airachnid did just that when she heard Jack's voice. She turned to face him and removed herself from Arcee.

"Jack, no!" June cried as she and the others ran over to stop Jack.

Instinctively, Airachnid shot webs at them, pinning them all to the wall. Arcee tried to get up, but she too was encased in webbing and left immobile on the floor. With them out of the way, Airachnid became bipedal and approached Jack. But unlike their last two encounters, she seemed different. She didn't look like she wanted to kill him but rather, she had longed to see him.

"Jack."

"Airachnid."

She was smiling at him...affectionately? Clown was not amused by this.

"Oh, fuck. This is bad. Aw, damn puppy love runs deeper than we thought, boss. Ah, this is gonna be a problem."

"I came back...I came back for you."

"I don't understand."

"I...I think I died...But I made deal. I don't remember, but I wanted to come back."

Airachnid knelt in front of Jack and reached out to touch him. Jack flinched when she did, but he didn't run away. He was afraid, but Airachnid wasn't acting threatening towards him and he needed to keep her that way.

"I needed to see you again."

Jack drew shaky breathe and swallowed nervously when she stroked his face. He had no idea what was happening.

"You don't wanna hurt me?" He asked.

Airachnid didn't seem to know the answer to that herself.

"Let them go. Let my Mom and my friends go and we can figure out where to go from there."

Airachnid thought for a few seconds, but then her face changed and Jack recognized it right away.

"I _do_ want to hurt you."

Before Jack could do anything, she trapped him in a web cocoon and let him fall to the ground. She loomed over him in her spider form.

" _I want to kill you, Jack...Very, very, slowly_."

She ran her claw down his face and looked at him with what appeared to be pure lust.

" _But first, I have to break you...That means, I have to kill everyone you love_."

Jack became horrified as Airachnid lifted him up and brought him with her to the console. Optimus attempted to stand up with his injuries, but he and Ratchet were both caught by her web lines and subdued.

She climbed up on to of the console and stuck Jack to the side of the upper platform.

" _Watch closely, Jack, and don't look away. I like knowing you're watching me_."

"Airachnid, please." Jack pleaded.

Airachnid brought herself uncomfortably close to Jack's face.

" _I love it when you beg, Jack. Do it again, for me, please?_ "

"I'll do whatever you want, just let them go."

" _Mm...No, I won't. Before I kill you, I_ have _to kill them. Sorry, Jack, orders."_

"Who's orders?"

" _That doesn't matter. What matters is you sit back and enjoy what happens next."_

Airachnid actually kissed Jack on the cheek and stroked his hair before she turned away. The teen watched in horror as she prepared to kill his whole family.

" _Now, who to slaughter first...Oh, I know_."

Airachnid turned to Arcee and Jack began to panic.

"Arcee, get up!" He cried.

"For some reason." Airachnid began. "I feel as if this has been a long time coming."

Now, Clown was at the edge of his seat. It was finally getting to the good part.

"Kill them. Kill them. Hehe, Kill them." He said, savagely.

Airachnid began walking towards Arcee, readying her claws and licking her lips. Arcee helplessly watched as she remained powerless to break free of Airachnid's webs. She feared what was to come. If she was the same as Spawn, that meant she had his powers. The thought of what she could do to the others filled Arcee with dread.

But then, a faint sound was heard in the distance. Everyone stopped to listen, even Clown. It was hard to determine what it was, until it became louder. It sounded like an angelic choir holding a single note. As it grew even louder, it began to sound as if a thousand voices were singing together.

Clown knew what the sound was.

"Oh, no. It fuckin' can't be." He nervously said.

Without warning, a pillar of fire erupted from the top of the messa and slammed into the ground, right on top of the Autobot sigil in the center of the base. The thousand voiced became millions and was so loud, it actually caused pain to everyone at the base. Both Clown and Airachnid were especially affected. Only Jack seemed immune to the sound.

He couldn't take his eyes off of the flaming beam of light, as flares violent whipped and snaked around it. The fire was golden and was almost too bright to look at for very long. As quickly as it appeared, the fire snuffed out, taking the sound with it. Kneeling in the center of a circle of angelic runes and symbols, now burning into the ground, was another mysterious being.

It stood tall to show his appearance and Clown was downright panicked to see who it was.

"Fuck, fuck, fuck, fuck, you can't be fuckin' serious."

At first, Jack and Arcee thought it was another Hellspawn. That's what he looked like when he stood up. But his appearance, while extremely similar, was different in many ways. Like the Hellspawn, he too bore a mask and cloak with a suit that seemed almost a part of his body. Only his suit was a dark shade of gray, rather than black and bore a large, white cross rather than two arches. His cloak was not as massive and was purple instead of blood red. Crosses pinned his cape to to his shoulders as opposed to skull pendants. He also wore gold chains from his belt that bore a cross of the crusades. Even his mask bore a gold cross and didn't have any eyes, glowing or otherwise, to see from. If Spawn was from Hell, he must've been Heaven's counterpart.

"A fuckin' Redeemer?!" Clowns questioned. "This ain't good."

The Redeemer put his attention on Airachnid, the Cybertronian Hellspawn, and pointed at her with clear hostility.

" **Hellspawn!** " He called, with a loud voice of a legion " **You Are No Child Of God, Yet Malebolgia Has Chosen One Such As You To Serve Him.** "

Airachnid didn't understand the name or the statement and truthfully, didn't care to.

"I don't know who you think you are..."

" **Silence, Demon!** "

His voice was enough to shut Airachnid up.

" **You Have Come Here To Spill The Blood of The Innocent As Well As An Instrument of God's Will. Your Sins Can Not Be Ignored, Nor Can They Be Forgiven.** "

The Redeemer began to float into the air, to the shock of all who was present, even Clown, who had encountered Redeemers before.

" **By The Will of God, I Sentence You To Death, Hellspawn!** "

Airachnid responded to such a threat by charging at Redeemer, striking at him with one of her spider legs. The Redeemer stopped it with one hand. With his other, he conjured a flame within his palm, as bright and gold as the pillar that brought him. He took hold of Airachnid's leg with it and scorched right through it, causing Airachnid intense pain. She cried out and pulled back, but when she looked at the half that was left of her leg, she found herself unable to regenerate. She looked back at Redeemer, who incinerated the other half into nothing.

"What have you done?!" She cried.

" **I Am The Sword of Heaven, Forged To Slay Those Who Serve Malebolgia. No Hellspawn Can Stand Against A Redeemer, For We Are The Anti-Spawn.** "

He held his palms upward and conjured two more flames.

" **Begone!** "

Redeemer threw his palms forward and released two streams of gold fire at Airachnid. Just like before, the fire consumed her, giving both her and Arcee horrific flashbacks of the alley battle against Spawn. Airachnid fell to her knees as the fire engulfed her completely.

The Redeemer ceased his attack and allowed his fire to burn Airachnid. But she would not allow herself to die once again. She ran out of the fire, her frame burning as she did, and swiped her claw at her attacker.

In blinding speed, the Redeemer extended his right hand and from his forearm, past his hand, he formed a blade of pure light. Like the fire, it too was blinding to look at. Airachnid's claw did not come into contact with him when he moved with incredible speed and sliced her arm off.

Airachnid fell to one of her knees in pain, but Redeemer would not let her regain herself. He brought his sword over his head and slash it downwards at Airachnid, then swiped cross-ways with enough force that he extinguished the fire behind Airachnid.

Both slashed forced her back into the console, just under Jack. When she looked down at her chassis, she saw her burning wounds in the shape of a cross. She looked at Redeemer in horror, knowing she was going to die again. Suddenly, the memory of hell had come back to her, as well as Malebolgia. She was too terrified to move.

Unexpectedly, she looked up. Jack looked down and the two of them made eye contact. He saw such fear in her optics and for some reason, he saw such regret in them. She had never looked at him like that before, such sadness and sorrow.

She was going to die, but she wanted to see her Jack one more time before being sent back to hell. But Redeemer took this as intent to harm Jack and attacked first. Airachnid didn't even register him coming towards her. She only felt his sword through her spark chamber, which didn't close up this time. He pulled his sword and ascended to meet her at optic level. She looked at him fearfully, while his featureless mask hid whatever emotions he might've had, if any. He spun around and quickly cut through her neck.

Everyone was left in shock as her head hit the ground and her decapitated frame fell. Redeemer turned his attention elsewhere and flew to the upper levels where he saw the elevator doors forced open. Something had made a run for it and he had a feeling who it was.

As he was above the others, Airachnid's frame and helm suddenly burst into more golden flame. As that happened, the webbing she had used also began to burn, though the fire did not hurt those trapped in it. Jack's web burned away and he began to fall to the floor, which would've killed him. Thankfully, a patched up Optimus was there to catch him.

"Are you alright, Jackson." The worried Prime asked.

Jack took a deep breath and looked up to Optimus gratefully.

"I'm okay, Optimus."

"I am glad to hear that."

Optimus set Jack down and everyone began to gather by the console. Jack saw June running straight towards him.

"Jackson." She called out.

"Mom." Jack replied.

He caught her in a hug that she happily returned. They all came too close to death for any of their comfort. Arcee watched them both, happy that they were okay.

"I was so scared she would hurt you." June said.

"It's okay, Mom. It's okay. It's over."

Everyone was relieved that Airachnid had been killed. But there was still the matter of their mysterious savior, who had descended back to the area where he had appeared.

" **Jackson Darby**." The Redeemer called.

He stood at the center of his entrance, waiting for Jack to come forward. Arcee stood in front of him protectively. Redeemer merely held his hand out and motioned Jackson to him.

" **Come forth, child**."

Jackson looked on and reluctantly stepped forward. June tried to stop him, but Jack held his hand out to ease her. He wasn't sure what to make of this being, but he was certain he wasn't there to hurt anyone else. Jack stood before the Redeemer, more than intimidated by his presence. He wasn't the same as Optimus or Spawn. He seemed like a good guy, but Jack felt something about him that didn't feel so heroic.

" **Jackson Darby, you are a mortal being among giants from another world. Yet you have been bestowed upon the title of greatness held by only those with the purest of hearts among their kind**."

Optimus stepped forward. Both he and Jack knew that Redeemer was referring to Jack being given the Key to Vector Sigma and being named an honorary Prime.

" **There is a light within you, child, a pure soul that shines brightly and casts its warmth over those consumed by darkness. It has already freed one lost soul from the depths of despair and guided her out of the darkness** "

Arcee looked on, knowing he was talking about her.

" **Even the tainted demon that has followed you was allowed to feel love in her last hours. Though, it was not enough to save her**."

Jack had to process that. Was he talking about Airachnid?

" **Jackson, there are very few mortals in human history that possess a soul such as yours**."

Redeemer held out his hand and Jack reluctantly reached out and took it.

" **In the wake of the coming darkness and the wars to come**..."

Suddenly, Redeemer grasped Jackson's hand tightly.

" **You Are God's Greatest Weapon Against Malebolgia And You** _ **Will**_ **Answer His Call**."

Jack didn't realize what was happening, but the fiery pillar from before returned from above and consumed the both of them.

June, Arcee, And Optimus ran forward.

"Jackson!" June called, but Optimus stopped her.

Arcee ran forward to get to Jack, but before she could reach him, the fire disappeared once again and Jackson was gone. The symbol was still scorched into the ground. Arcee looked down at the glowing angelic runes, then looked up that ceiling, where there was nothing.

"Jack?" She uttered in shock.

Not knowing what was happening, consumed by fear, and being away from her partner, Arcee panicked.

"JACK!" She cried loud enough to echo through the base.

* * *

Clown was standing atop another messa and watched as the fiery portal to Heaven opened and shut, knowing who was traveling with the Redeemer. He looked on with absolute dread, for this mission was the worst kind of failure.

"The boss is gonna fuckin' kill me."

* * *

 **So...Maybe I should explain what's going on with Airachnid. She's a Hellspawn now, you all know that. But this back and forth between affection and sadism is something I decided to add to her character. So, in the show, Airachnid might've had a little fondness for Jack, just enough to want to hurt him particularly badly. In here, I decided to go a little further. She's in love with him. But the thing is, her love comes from a very twisted place, which we'll go deeper into later. (Spoiler alert, Airachnid's not dead for good. She's a Hellspawn.) However she fell in love with Jack, she expressed it through sadism which also acted as a mask to hide her feelings while she was alive. As a Hellspawn, her memories and emotions are all mixed up. When she was stalking him, she remembered the thrill of hunting him, coupled with the love she hid beneath it, which she mistook for lust. When she saw him up close, those feelings came to forefront and she didn't know how to react to them. She just knew she felt something strong for Jack. But her old tendencies came back and she acted on those instead, until she was about to die and she looked to the one person who made her feel anything, which was Jack. When she returns, she's going to be even more confused about her feelings.**  
 **Anyway, Redeemer shows up in this chapter. Those familiar with the comics know who he is. But as it was said in the story, he is Heaven's version of Spawn, designed to defeat Spawn at their own game. I wanted to have him speak in the Old English way, but I was a bit out of my element and left it alone. As you saw, Redeemers are notoriously effective at dispatching Hellspawns with ease. In the comics, he was always one of Spawn's most dangerous enemies.**  
 **Jack is still dealing with some things, as is Arcee. But the both of them got a few answers of the nature of Spawn, especially Jack. Jack wasn't sure he believed that Spawn was a resurrected human, but learning that Airachnid had died and seeing her come back was proof enough that such a thing was possible.**  
 **And now, Jack has been taken to Heaven for what sounds like recruitment. Doesn't seem like they gave him much choice, did they? And of course, Clown is in it deep as this was exactly what he didn't want to happen.  
I also mentioned the Youngbloods in this chapter, which were also a part of the Image Universe. But I changed them to a private military instead of a team of heroes. I don't intend to have them or any other Image characters show up. Though, I am open to a Witchblade/TFP crossover in the future. The comic, not the anime. Also, that bathroom couch joke was from Boy Meets World. Really hope I got it right. Next chapter, everyone scrambles to make sense of this and figure out how to bring Jackson back home.**  
 **So, I went a bit George RR Martin with the waiting again and I really just kept going back and changing things, unhappy with the finished product. Anyway, I'm sorry. Well, it's time to get back to my favorite story, Old Nightmare. I know some of you really want to see where that unlikely team-up is gonna go. Until then, Peace Among Worlds and I don't mean that in the Rick and Morty way.  
('Burp' Yeah, well screw you too, Korova, you gender ambiguous hack writer.)  
**


	6. Chapter 6

Everyone stood at the base, which was so silent, you could hear a pin drop. Arcee kept her optics glued to the spot where Jack had been standing, the smoldering runes where he had disappeared. She hadn't the foggiest of what happened to her partner, where he was, or who or what that took him. All she knew was panic and fear. What in the universe was going on?

"Arcee."

Arcee was pulled from her mile a minute thoughts and turned around to face the mother of the human she had sworn to protect, the one she had just let some mysterious being take away. When she looked into June's eyes, she saw a fear she had never seen in her before, not even with Airachnid. She looked up at Arcee, pleading for some kind of assurance that her son would be alright, or at least, an answer.

"What is going on?" She asked.

Arcee looked back at the runes, which were no longer glowing, and shut her optics.

"I made a huge mistake, June. I messed up...big time."

* * *

No one remembers how their dreams begin. They're just thrown in, right in the middle of it, like the second act of a movie and they don't question how they got there. It was because of that that Jack was wondering, hoping, that this was all a dream. After that whole, whatever that was back at base, Jack remembered being taken away by the other cloaked figure with the crosses. After that, he ended up in the room he was in with no recollection of going there, being taken there, or even waking up there. He was just there.

It looked like a waiting room, a large one. It was the kind you sit in when you're about to be interviewed for some corporate job in the city. That was underselling a bit because the whole decor of the place was ritzier than any upscale hotel in New York, London, France, wherever. There was an Asian looking woman sitting behind a desk, typing away, answering her work phone. Jack had already tried to ask her where he was and why he was there. She merely told him to wait a moment as "she" would be with him shortly. The wall behind him was just glass, but Jack couldn't see out of it. It looked like there was a heavy fog obscuring everything outside the building. But he could make out a few rays of light. It looked like a sunny day. Shame the fog was messing it up.

The whole place felt off to Jack, otherworldly. The people, even more so. The woman behind the desk seemed normal enough, but her lack of attention to Jack in the slightest made her feel a little inhuman. Every so often, someone would enter the room and go through the door behind the desk. All of them were women, gorgeous women. Most of them didn't acknowledge Jack at all, but few of them would give him a little smile and continue on. Each of them floored Jack with their beauty. It was almost unnatural because they were all so...perfect.

But that didn't change the unease of wherever he was, nor did it make him any less worried about his mother and everyone else back home. They were probably worried beyond reason, terrified even. His mother, Jack could only imagine how close she was to a breakdown at that moment. He had been kidnapped before and it was too much for her then. And Arcee, she had gotten so much more protective of him ever since she had learned about Billy Kincaid. This was the worst to thing for any of them to have to go through. He needed to get back home.

Jack decided to try again with the receptionist and when he was about to stand up and talk to her, another women entered the room, this one far beyond any of the beautiful women he had already seen. Maybe Jack was a bit biased since red hair was his weakness, but her ginger locks that went down past her shoulders put every redhead he had ever crushed on, from Sierra to Christina Hendricks, to absolute shame. And just like all the others, her face was unnaturally beautiful, almost...angelic. Her pale skin seemed to glow in the light of the immaculate room they all stood in. And she was tall, an Amazon if he had ever seen one. Any women Jack would fall for from this moment on would forever be in the shadow of the Goddess like being before him.

Jack was hypnotized by this woman, so much that he was staring and he was never one to creepily stare at anyone, male or female. He didn't even noticed that she looked unhappy, seemingly not wanting to be there. But what did break his trance were the earrings she was wearing. They looked like disks of some kind, a bit oversized for the decade they were living in. But the design on them caught Jack's attention because recognized it as the same as Spawn's mask.

The woman then turned her glare towards Jackson, who suddenly felt like a rabbit beneath the eyes of an eagle. He quickly turned away, sweating as if he had just committed a murder in a courthouse. This woman's cold glare was more powerful than his mother's, Arcee's, and Airachnid's combined. It frightened him to his core. He hoped to God that she would disregard him like the others, but when he slowly panned back to her to see, she was still staring dead at him.

Jack turned again, praying for her to leave, but she watched him closely. He could feel her eyes burning into his soul. Suddenly, she moved in front of him, casting her tall shadow over him, blocking the light that was reflecting off of her perfect skin. Jack didn't dare look up.

"Look at me, boy." Her strong voice commanded.

Jack didn't have the courage to disobey and slowly looked up at the scowling ginger Amazon's emerald eyes. He swallowed down on nothing and felt himself shrinking beneath her gaze.

"I'm sorry for staring...I was just...I..uh...I."

Jack was tongue tied and dry in the throat and couldn't manage a single complete sentence. The woman continued to stare him down, apparently unhappy with his mere presence.

"Angela." Jack heard the receptionist call. "Angela."

To Jack's mercy, she turned away and fully faced the woman behind the desk. Now, Jack had a name for her.

"I don't care what she's doing, she's gonna see me and she's gonna see me now." Angela said with no room for discussion.

The woman tried to stop her, but Angela marched right past and went straight in the next room, slamming the door behind her. The woman sighed and sat back down. She seemed used to this kind of behavior.

"I'm sorry, I wasn't trying to make her mad." Jack said.

For the first time, the woman actually acknowledged a little more personally.

"It's not you, kid, trust me."

* * *

Angela barged into the office of the one in charge of this place and slammed her hands onto the desk as she sat behind it. The woman, an older woman with short, white hair and glasses looked up at Angela, unamused.

"Barging into my office unannounced and without invitation. Is it Sunday already, Angela?"

"Cut the shit, Gabrielle, and tell me what the hell you think you're doing!"

Gabrielle stood up and placed her finger upon Angela's lips, even less amused than before.

"Number one, you will to talk to me with respect and you will not use profanity in my office. Understood?"

Angela smacked Gabrielle's hand away, but she firmly grabbed Angela's swatting hand with her other. The two stared at each other with such intent on a confrontation, but Angela jerked her hand away and took a seat across the desk.

"Now, tell me what your grievance is this time." Gabrielle said calmly as she too sat back down.

"That boy out there, why is he here?"

Gabrielle sighed, and condescendingly, removed her glassed to clean them, despite not having a spec of dust or a single smudge.

"Angela, when you insist on doing everything on your own and ignoring the agency and protocol, you do not get to come back and demand to know what we do in this building.

"Don't give me that shit, Gabrielle!"

"Careful, Angela! I can have a Redeemer toss you out with the snap of my fingers."

Angela calmed herself and looked on with shock.

"A Redeemer, is that how you got him?"

Gabriella merely put her glasses back on and stared at Angela.

"You went after a Hellspawn." Angela stated.

"You're not the only hunter out there, Angie."

"You went up the ladder and sought help from an Anti-Spawn to help you take one down? And you call yourself hunters?"

"This wasn't a matter of hunting down a Hellspawn. This one was different from the others."

"How so?"

"It doesn't matter. All that matters is that it appeared suddenly and it went after the boy. We knew very little about this Hellspawn and couldn't send one of our own after it, so yes, we sought help from the Anti-Spawn to make short work of it and save that boy's life."

"Couldn't send one our your own? You mean you couldn't move through the absurd bureaucracy fast enough to send a hunter out. And you wonder why I choose work independently?"

Gabrielle scoffed bitterly. They've had this conversation several times before, each more pointless and annoying than the last.

"So, why save the boy? Millions die everyday and he wouldn't be the first to be killed by a Hellspawn. We don't save people here, we're not guardians. We hunt Hellspawn and destroy what we can of Hell's army. What makes that boy so special to send a Redeemer to rescue him?"

Gabrielle began to smile, seemingly pleased with herself.

"Didn't you feel it? Didn't you see it for yourself?"

Angela raised an eyebrow.

"The light...Within that boy's soul shines a light that is capable of burning away the darkness and saving a thousand more souls."

"What are you..."

"You had to have felt it, even just a little, a warmth when you noticed his presence, and peace within his heart that holds no ill intent, no selfish desires."

Angela didn't seem to agree.

"I felt nothing from that boy, except for his eyes looking me over with the same lust that all humans have

"Or perhaps you were just too distracted, wondering what I was planning to do with him to notice. But that boy, he is pure. Very few humans have ever been born with such a soul inside of them and fewer have managed to hold on to it, uncorrupted. His light even gained the attention of Malebolgia."

Angela's eyes widened for a moment at hearing that.

"Which is why he sent a Hellspawn from another world to destroy him before we could get to him." Gabrielle followed.

"Another world?" Angela questioned.

Much to her annoyance, Gabrielle merely exhaled and deciding to tell Angel what she had learned.

"There are Cybertronians living on Earth."

Angela was shocked to discover this.

"They've been here for a few decades now." Gabrielle continued.

"Cybertronians, here?"

"Yes and I'm sure you know their God, Primus."

"I do know. They're one of the few mortal beings that actually have a direct connection to their creator. The Well of the Spark is a Heaven they themselves can find."

"Indeed, while our God chooses to handle things more...mysteriously, Primus often enacts his with a little more presence through the actions of a Prime."

"A Prime?"

"Individuals among the Cybertronians recognized for their pure hearts and noble intentions. Often, only one is chosen to be blessed with the title of Prime at any given period. On Cybertron, they are almost Messiah figures, meant to lead the people into a new era."

"And what does this have to do with the boy and this light you see in him?"

"The current Prime living on Earth, the last of his kind, has recognized the boy as one who is the same as him."

Angela took a moment to figure out what Gabrielle meant by that. But when it came to her, she sat straight at the implication.

"The Prime recognized that boy out there as worthy of the title as himself, even though he is a human. As such, he bestowed upon him an Cybertronian artifact of great value, meant to symbolize his honorary status. For Primus, that is as good as his own word. The boy is essentially the first ever human Prime. Even in his decayed state, Primus has recognizes him as well. Do you understand?"

Angela understood. If the boy was worthy of a title that was only bestowed upon the purest among the alien species, then he himself was pure. Pure not only meant uncorrupted, but with training, the ability to save those that were corrupted...and to slay those too far gone.

"What do you intend to do with him, Gabrielle?" Angela asked, a bit of grimness at the edge of her voice.

"To Malebolgia, the boy is a weapon of Heaven that he cannot allow us to wield. He will stop at nothing to taint his soul and claim him for himself, even stealing the soul of a Cybertronian damned to rot in Unicron's Pit and turning her into a Hellspawn."

"Is that what we intend for him, to be our weapon?"

Gabriella could tell that Angela was not happy to be a a part of this.

"Angela, you do realize that here in Heaven...we are outnumbered."

Gabrielle turned her seat to the wall behind her, where she kept a relic as her time as a Spawn Hunter, a Dimensional Lance. The Dimensional Lance is the prime weapon of any angel against a Hellspawn and is said to be suicidal to to challenge one without it. Like Angela, Gabriella had slayne countless Hellspawn over the centuries with it. Now, it hung behind her to remind those who followed her that she too had fought the good fight and that she still knew how to use it. It was a symbol of pride for her, like the earrings Angela wore, made from the armor of a Hellspawn she had hunted many years ago.

"When Hell declared war on us, they knew they had the upper hand, for all we had were our the souls of the untainted who had never tasted blood and us angels who serve God faithfully. Malebolgia and Satan had countless followers among the demons and even more souls of killers and mass murderers and thieves, all too willing to strike bargains for their pitiful lives. It's because of that we've had to lower our standards for being allowed to enter Heaven. In order for us to stand a chance against Hell, we needed the souls of mortal warriors of our own, even if they had blood on their hands. Hell acquired the soul of Genghis Khan, we acquired the soul of Attilla the Hun. Now, heaven is filled with as many corrupted and hateful souls as Hell."

Gabriella lowered her head at the sheer pointlessness of what was bound to be a Pyrrhic victory.

"When it's all said and done, would Heaven still be Heaven? With Jackson Darby...it may."

Gabrielle turned back around to Angela, locking her hands together in front of her face as she rested her elbows on her desk.

"If his light is as bright as we believe, he may be able to purify many of those souls. Warriors with the same virtues and dedication as us, loyal to us who will fight for the Heavens and not for their own desires."

"And what of those he cannot purify?"

"If he is unable to save them, he will be the one to purge them. With the right training, he could be as powerful as any Dimensional Lance. Even the Hellspawns would be unsafe from him."

Gabrielle seemed pleased with the possibilities, but Angela was not.

"And if he refuses?"

Gabrielle didn't seemed pleased anymore.

"He won't. If he is truly a human Prime, he _will_ answer the call."

"And _what_ is he doesn't?"

"Then he is not worthy and we'll know he has thrown in with them."

That answer did not sit well with Angela in the slightest.

"With us or against us." She bitterly said.

Gabriella did not reply.

"This is not right...This is not right and you know it."

"This is war, Angela. Ideals are the first casualty, we learned that long before humans even existed to coin the phrase."

"We are forcing a mortal being to fight our battles, not just a soul, but a living human. We are demanding that he fight for us, not as a soldier, but as a weapon. This is no different Malebolgia's tactics."

"Which is why he is winning. More humans stray from God's light everyday. More people succumb to temptation and descend into sin. His army grows every second. We need Jackson Darby. We need him to light the path for us."

Angela couldn't believe what she was hearing, that the agency had succumbed to such desperation. Her apathy towards humans aside, she had no desire to enslave the same way Hell does.

"Gabby...He's a child."

" A hundred years ago, he would've been old enough to fight a war."

"A hundred years ago, humans were even more savage than they are now. Are we not better than them? Are we not above the atrocities they commit?"

Gabrielle rose from her seat, heated from the debate.

"This is not a war for land, or wealth, or warped ideas of faith and religion. This is a war for their very existence as well as our own. This is about survival and everything is fair game. One child to end it all and save the Heavens...I needn't say more."

Gabriella sat back down and looked Angela dead in the eye, who returned it in kind.

"He is our best chance to defeat our oldest enemy. He _will_ fight for us, whether he wants to or not. And _you_ will not interfere. This is bigger than any Hellspawn and this time, insubordination will not be tolerated."

Gabriella calmed herself, but she was also done debating for the day.

"Leave." She said.

Angela turned around and stomped out, slamming the door behind her. She left the waiting room without saying a word, casting a slight glance at Jackson Darby, who still had no idea where he was or what he was about to be forced into. She pitied the boy, she truly did. One thing the Gods have always stood by was the value of free will. When did the one they served forget that?

Angela left through the elevator and Jack was a little more than frightened by how angry she seemed.

"Jackson Darby."

Jack looked to the woman behind the desk.

"Gabrielle will see you now."

* * *

June Darby sat at the bottom of the stairway that led to the human area of the base, shocked into silence. Arcee had told her about Jack going back into the alleys in Rat City, _those_ alleys. She told June what Jack had told her, about Spawn, about Chapel, and everything Jack was going through since then. Then she told her and everyone else what happened when she went back there, when she ran into Airachnid...and Airachnid met Spawn.

Disbelief was to be expected, at least, that's what Arcee thought. But how _could_ they disbelieve, after everything they had just witnessed? What Arcee told them put it into perspective and made it make sense. Airachnid had come back from the dead somehow, as Arcee believed the same as this "Spawn" guy.

But the truth was of no comfort to June, as none of it held any answers as to what happened to her son, where he had been taken, or how they were going to get him back. The only thing the truth accomplish was drive her fears deeper since this was all connected to that horrible night, six years ago.

"How could you let him go?" June asked in a nervously calm voice, not even looking at Arcee. "How could you let him go back?"

Arcee had an answer, but she her posture expressed how she felt, ashamed.

"I didn't know, June. Jack went behind my back. I would've never..."

"You're supposed to protect him...I had just told you everything about six years ago...about those alleys. How could you let him slip by you and go back there?"

Ratchet stepped in, reluctantly. He was far more to blame for this than Arcee was, for sure.

"June, it's not Arcee's fault. She was out on patrol, she was just doing her job."

Ratchet paused to prepare because he knew June would be all over him once he told her what happened.

"Jack came to me and asked me to send him there."

June suddenly lifted her head with a gasp. She looked at Ratchet in disbelief and horror.

"You sent him there? You sent my son back into that hellhole?"

Ratchet was not prepared for the way June's eyes burned into him, almost with betrayal.

"I-I...He said he was going to pay his respects. I told him fifteen minutes and no more."

June continued to stare at Ratchet, desperately wishing that what she was hearing wasn't true.

"Perhaps I...lost track of time..."

" _How could you, Ratchet?_ "

June's eyes were tearing now. Of all the Autobots who understood her overprotective tendencies, Ratchet got her most of all. He was a doctor and much older than the others. He was caretaker and a healer who was as protective towards to other Autobots as June was to the children. The two were more alike than they wanted to admit.

"June, I'm sorry."

Optimus stepped forward, unable to stand the sight of June crying or Ratchet faltering.

"Ms. Darby, the fault lies with all of us. But it lies with me most of all."

June's eyes widened with even more shock than before. Feeling betrayed by Ratchet was bad enough, but Optimus?

" _Tell me you didn't know, Optimus."_

"I _did_ know, Ms. Darby, and I am truly sorry. I believed that Jack returning would be essential to his recovery."

" _What?_ "

"Jack was still suffering from the trauma of what happened and I believed that in order for him to move forward, he would need to revisit the past and confront it. Had I known that such events would unfold, I would've never allowed him to go back to Rat City."

June could only look up at Optimus, hurt beyond reason. How could he let this happen? How could he make such a decision without her?

"When this is resolved, I will understand if you no longer place your trust in me. But at this moment, our only concern in finding your son and we _will_ find him, Ms. Darby."

June closed her eyes and lowered her head. She sat back down on the steps and ran both her hands behind her head, locking them behind her neck. She was scared, anyone could see.

Optimus hoped he did not lose the faith June Darby had in him for it meant a great deal to the Prime. He turned to Arcee, knowing that she was the best hope they had to find Jack.

"Arcee, is there anything else you know that might be able to help us find Jack?"

But Arcee was lost herself. Even without the worry of what was happening to her partner, she was so far out of her element that she didn't know where to start...But there was someone who might.

"Cogliostro." She said to herself in a eureka moment.

"Cogliostro, the vagrant." Optimus stated.

"He was the one who took me to Spawn. If anyone knows what's going on, it's him."

June stood up and looked to Arcee, hoping that this Cogliostro person could lead to her son. Arcee looked down to her, hoping herself she wasn't setting up for a failure. Cogliostro may know who it was that took Jack, but how willing he was to help was uncertain at best. And there was the matter of Spawn. He made it clear he didn't want to see Arcee back in those alleys. And even though she believed that he cared about Jack's safety, even if he claimed he didn't, he was not going to want to hear how she let someone else kidnap him. Going back to the alleys may very well be a death sentence. She knew she didn't stand a chance against Spawn if he were to attack her. But if she had kept a closer optic on Jack, this would've never happened. The risk had to be taken, for Jack's sake.

"Ratchet, open a bridge."

"Arcee, maybe you should think about this."

"Ratchet...just open the bridge. If I'm gonna find Jack...I need to go back to Rat City. I need to go back into the alleys."

Into Spawn's territory.

* * *

When Jack entered the office of this mysterious building, he was greeted by a slightly older woman. At least, she looked older if her hair was of any indication. But let it not be said that she was any less beautiful than any of the woman Jack had seen today, except maybe Angela. Again, biased for redheads. Unlike Angela, however, she seemed happy with his presence. She smiled politely at his entrance and was kindly offered a seat across from her. She was pleased with him it seemed, as her smile never left her face, the exact opposite of Angela.

"Can I offer you anything, Mr. Darby? You've been patiently waiting this whole time, it's only right I extend my hospitality to you."

"No, thank you...Ms.?"

"Call me Gabrielle."

She held her hand out for Jack and he took it respectfully. Since he was certain she was as strong as she appeared, which was a lot, he was sure to grip her hand firmly, something his disappeared father taught him to do.

"Ms. Gabrielle, I uh..."

"Would like to know why you're here."

"Yes, please."

Gabrielle stood up from her seat and approached the window that made up her far wall, very much like the waiting room outside.

"I'm terribly sorry about my 'associate' bringing you here the way he had. It was improper of him to snatch you away like that, in front of your mother no less. Poor thing must be worried sick."

Jack was surprised she knew those details.

"How did you know that?"

Gabrielle looked back at Jackson.

"About my associate? I sent him to retrieve you."

"No, about my mother being there."

Gabrielle went to another desk where she kept a tray and a pitcher of water. She began pouring herself a glass.

"I may not have the all seeing eyes of the Almighty himself, but I can see close enough when I know what I'm looking for. And I saw everything Mr. Darby, I saw it all."

She took a sip of her water and sat back down at her desk, placing her clasped hands on the table.

"You were watching me?"

"I was."

"H..How?"

Gabrielle seemed to be looking for a proper way to answer that.

"Well...I'm what you would call an angel."

Jack knew he had the most dumbfounded look on his face. He couldn't have heard that right. She must've misspoke or was having fun with him.

"A-a what now?"

"Come now, Mr. Darby, you know what an angel is. Heavenly beings watching over people, harps, fluffy white wings."

"Angels...as in Heaven?"

Still smiling, Gabrielle tilted her head.

"I did say Heavenly, didn't I?"

"You're an angel...from Heaven?" Jack asked incredulously.

"Where do you think you are now, Mr. Darby?"

Even though he was already skeptic, the question made Jack uneasy.

"Go over to that window. Take a good look outside and tell me what you see."

Jack didn't believe what he was hearing. It was ludicrous, even by he standards of weird he was already used to. Alien robots were one thing, undead soldiers were another, but actually being in Heaven was a bit too out there for him. Jack turned to the window, which was still showing nothing but clouds outside. He stood up and began to walk towards, telling himself that there was a fog out and nothing more. He didn't even want to entertain the idea that he had somehow made it into the afterlife.

He stood at the window, but not really looking beyond the glass. For some reason, he was beginning to think there wasn't any fog at all. He looked closer and he could see the rays of light shining through the clouds...But they weren't coming from the sky. Jack focused his vision and he could vaguely see movement. They were nothing but shadows and silhouettes, but he could clearly make out human shaped figures...and wings coming from their back...and they were all floating and flying about.

Jack stepped back, unsure of reality around him. For a brief second, he forgot how to function. But when he came back, he came to know shock previously unfelt before.

"I'm in Heaven." He said, but without the joy that statement is often spoken with.

"Yes, you are, Mr. Darby. And I welcome you."

But Jack didn't welcome the...well, welcome. Instead, he began to suffer a panic attack, breathing and shaking uncontrollably. If he was in Heaven...

"I'm dead. Am I dead?"

He looked to Gabrielle, who was now worried and not smiling.

"Oh, God. What-what happened? Did Airachnid kill me? I thought-I thought that the masked guy killed her. How did I...Mom, Oh my God. Mom, she must be...She must be devastated. Oh, God. If she saw me die..."

"Jackson."

Jack felt a hand on his shoulder and looked to see Gabrielle trying to calm him down.

"Calm yourself, child."

"But-but I..."

"Breathe, _breathe_."

Gabrielle demonstrated her calm breathing for Jack to do the same. Jack mimicked her and was able to get a hold of himself.

"Sit down, Mr. Darby, before you have a heart attack."

Jackson nervously sat back down and Gabrielle joined him.

"No one's ever died after they've gone to Heaven and we wouldn't want you to be first."

Jack looked back up, finally calming down.

"So...I'm not dead?"

"No, Mr. Darby, you're very much alive. There would've been no point in sending a Redeemer to save you if we were going to kill you ourselves."

"A...Redeemer?"

"The masked being wielding Heaven Fire, the one who dispatched that wretched Hellspawn."

Now, Jack was focused again.

"You...You know about the Hellspawn?"

Gabrielle's smile disappeared again, and this time, she looked much more serious.

"We know the Hellspawn well, Mr. Darby. It's our job to hunt them."

Jack pulled back. Now, he was afraid.

"Hunt?"

"Yes, Mr. Darby, hunt. We are warriors of Heaven and servants of God. Our job is to protect the mortal world from all agents of Hell and none are more dangerous than the Hellspawn."

Gabrielle stood up again and walked behind Jackson, standing with her back to them.

"That's why you're here, Mr. Darby. We want to make sure you haven't been tainted by the one from those alleys."

* * *

The Rat City alleys were lit up by the appearance of the Autobot ground bridge. Arcee stepped through in her bipedal form, knowing the light had gotten the attention of the alleys watchdog. There was no point in taking her alt form this time. Most of the occupants of the alley had seen her true form already and if they hadn't, she was certain that she was far from the most shocking thing they _had_ seen.

"Ratchet, Optimus, I'm here." She said into her comms.

 _"Arcee, this is a bad idea."_ Ratchet said from the other end.

"It's the only option we have if we wanna find Jack."

 _"But you said this being was dangerous, even more than Airachnid. You also said he warned you to stay away. He doesn't sound like the type to repeat his warnings."_

"It's a risk I have to take, Ratchet. This whole thing happened on my watch."

 _"Arcee."_ Optimus said. " _I agree with Ratchet, however, we are unfortunately out of options. But you must be cautious. If Spawn becomes hostile, you are to retreat immediately. You have already learned that our kind cannot harm his."_

"Understood, Sir. Killing communications until necessary."

 _"Be careful, Arcee."_

Arcee began to make her way through the alley, seeing the wary glances of the vagrants who recognized her. They were nervous, but not of her. They knew something was about to happen in their home and it was likely to end violently. They all knew too well how Spawn handled intruders.

Arcee continued on and it didn't take long before she got deep enough into the alleys that it seemed like even the moonlight was afraid to go any further. She found herself as the only known presence in the area, as the others wouldn't dare come to the place

Suddenly, Arcee heard the rattling of chains and quickly turned to where she thought the sound came from.

"Spawn?" She said in a startle.

No answer...not good.

"I know you told me not come back, but I didn't have any other choice."

She kept turning to look around, making sure not to keep her back to anything for very long.

"I need your help, Spawn...you and the old man."

She heard the chains again, above her. She got his attention.

"It's Jack...Someone... _Something_ took him...and I think one of you might know what."

Arcee couldn't see anything above the buildings, but she knew she felt something watching her. She took a few steps backwards...but stopped when her winglets touched some chains behind her.

She figured it out instantly, but it was already too late. The chains came to life and wrapped around her torso, pulling her up into the darkness above. Even with her metal body, being strangled so tightly still hurt like the pit. But she knew something far worse was in store for her...unless, she could convince Spawn or Cogliostro to help her.

She was pulled up to hole in one of the many vacant buildings. Waiting for her was a red cloak and a pair of piercing green eyes. Seeing him again brought back the fear she had been trying to push away since the night before. Spawn stared into her soul, as if the same green fire that consumed Airachnid was about to shoot from his eyes and burn away alive as well. He narrowed them, not happy as she could see.

"You let Jackson be taken from you?" He asked lowly and coldly.

Arcee didn't answer.

"I thought you were his guardian. Your job was to protect him."

Spawn tightened his chains and it seemed like he was going to choke the life out of Arcee with them. Then, they loosened and he let her fall to the ground. She hit the concrete hard and had to take a nano-click to pull herself together. She did so just in time to barley dodge one of Spawn's chains lashing out at her, smashing a hole in the ground where she was just laying. She got up quickly, but Spawn dropped down across from her, looking for a fight.

"I trusted you to keep him safe. I let your little slip-up pass. But you let him get kidnapped...again!"

"Spawn, please."

"Shut Up!"

Spawn shot his chain around Arcee's ankle and pulled it out from under her. She hit her back again and felt his cloak rope around her neck. Just like last time, he began to strangle her.

"I'm starting to think you're not the one to protect him."

Spawn pulled himself towards Arcee and landed on her midsection. Still keeping her bound with his chains and cloak, he balled his fist and pulled it back, conjuring the familiar green flame around it.

"Who took him?! Who took Jackson?!"

"Spawn, enough!"

Spawn looked behind him and saw Cogliostro.

"She will tell us everything, but only if she still lives. Let her go."

Spawn looked back at Arcee and she could tell he really wanted to hurt her, even just a little. He was far angrier than she expected or hoped he'd be. He released her and removed himself. He began walking towards Cogliostro as Arcee recovered.

"Start talking." He ordered.

"Jack was..." Arcee had to work her voice back. "Jack was taken by someone who was like you."

Spawn stopped and Cogliostro looked even more alarmed. Spawn turned around to address Arcee.

"Like me...another Hellspawn."

"No...I don't think so. He kind of looked like you, but different. His appearance was different...so was his power. He came from the sky."

Arcee couldn't tell if Spawn was skeptic or confused. Cogliostro was neither.

"A Redeemer." He said.

Arcee gave the old man her attention, as did Spawn.

"What the hell is a Redeemer?" He asked.

"Heaven's version of a Hellspawn, a Heavenspawn, an anti-Spawn."

"What does a Heavenspawn want with Jack?" Spawn questioned.

Cogliostro seemed grim, wary, uncertain.

"Exactly what I feared."

He looked to Arcee and moved past Spawn to approach her.

"What happened before the Redeemer appeared?"

Arcee regained her strength and kept her optics on Spawn. He was too unpredictable and she wasn't going to chance her survival by letting him catch her off guard.

"It began when...when Airachnid appeared."

Spawn was focused even more.

"You remember her, right, the spider?"

"I remember sending her to Hell."

"Well, Hell sent her back...with _your_ powers."

Both Spawn and Cogliostro were genuinely shocked to learn this.

" _She_ was also like you, minus the mask and cloak. Her optics, her frame, her energon, they were all just like yours. Her body could heal like yours could. We couldn't kill her."

Cogliostro was able to piece it together.

"Malebolgia stole her soul from whatever demonic entity rules over your race's underworld and turned her into a Hellspawn, the first ever from another world."

"Why?" Spawn asked.

Arcee answered.

"She came for Jack. She wanted to kill him."

The answer caused Spawn to look at Arcee with the same hostility as before. She was afraid that he was about to attack her again, so, she prepared to take her alt form and run for it if he did.

"That's when the Redeemer appeared and slew her." Cogliostro finished.

"Yeah...That's what happened."

The old man lowered his head, looking hopeless all of a sudden.

"I was afraid of this."

"What's going on? What does this Redeemer want with Jack?"

"The Redeemer is merely an agent of Heaven. They are the ones who want him."

"Heaven?" Spawn questioned. "Why?"

"Because they intend to draft him into this war and fight for them."

Arcee pulled back and Spawn wasn't any happier with the answer.

"What war?" Arcee asked in alarm.

"The war that's been raging since before all creation, the war between Heaven and Hell. The prize, human souls."

This was way bigger than Arcee realized and she began to see that she was in over her head. But if she was overwhelmed by all this...What was going through Jack's mind, wherever he was?

* * *

"You know about him?" Jack asked Gabrielle

"We've known about him for quite some time. We've been studying him, watching him closely."

Jack wasn't sure of anything anymore since he was told that he was currently sitting in a building in Heaven. He was even less sure of this all too perfect women telling him all this. She claimed to hunt Hellspawns, which meant she wasn't friends with the one he knew. This caused him to distrust her. Spawn saved his life and she had to have known that. Did she intend to kill him? However, this also meant that Jack might finally learn something about Spawn and Al Simmons.

"What is he? I mean...What exactly is a Hellspawn?"

Gabrielle looked on in deep thought.

"Hellspawns, as their name implies, are agents of Hell, soldiers in the underworld's massive army. They serve under the rule of Malebolgia."

Jack didn't like the sound of that name.

"Is he like...the devil?"

" _A_ devil, but not the only one."

"So...not Satan."

"Satan is another ruler of Hell, the original ruler. I know what you're thinking and yes, he is the same angel you've read about, cast out of Heaven for defying God. He likened himself to God, even believing himself to be superior. But, alas, he was only an angel and was unable to rule Hell on his own. So, he granted different sections of the underworld to other demons who were as powerful as him. Malebolgia is one of them."

"So, you're saying there's more than one devil?"

"Yes, Jackson. And this one, he is the one that's been amassing an army of killers, rapists, and warmongers since the dawn of man."

Jack listened closely, though he was sure what he was about to learn would shatter everything he thought he knew.

"A murderer dies and goes to Hell, he is given a choice. Spend eternity in unending torment, or serve Malebolgia for the chance to return to Earth and kill again. The killer makes the obvious choice. He thinks he has escaped his punishment. But Malebolgia is a master of lies. The killer will return to Earth, but only when Malebolgia will allow it, meaning when it serves him. Until then, the killer's essence is ripped from his soul and replaced a substance that grants him the power of Hell known as ectoplasm. You've seen it in the Hellspawn from the alleys, the green substance that it bleeds."

Now, Jack had one answer to one his many questions, but it brought nothing that felt like closure.

"He is then bound in a suit and cloak, the uniform of Hell's army that can never be removed. This entire process robs the killer of his will, of his consciousness, his very identity. When it's finished, he is no longer the damned soul of a murderer, but another faceless soldier for Malebolgia, meat for his army."

"So, Spawn...Al Simmons...is just a puppet for this Malebolgia."

Gabrielle sighed.

"He's different from other Hellspawns. See, you know him as Al Simmons and the world remembers him as a hero. But there was a dark truth beneath the glory you were all told stories of. Al Simmons was a killer, one of the finest there ever was."

Jack remembered what Fowler had told him about Simmons and the CIA.

"I know what you're thinking. He was a soldier and he fought for his country and you're right. But the blood on his hands was much deeper than that."

The more Gabrielle she talked, Jack could see the disgust on her face.

"He killed for a number of reasons and very few of them were even close to anything noble. He killed on orders from his superiors, without question. Many of them were even less noble than him and they most certainly deserved to die. But others were good, genuine men of honor who the ones he answered to wanted out of the way. Some of them were innocent, bystanders, people who didn't get out of his way, people who made the change and wanted to start over but his masters couldn't allow to live. Al Simmons killed over a hundred people in his lifetime and he did them without a second thought. His hands were soaked in a river of blood."

Fowler was right, it was better not to know the truth.

"He made a career out of it and eventually, he had gotten the attention of Malebolgia. When he died, he was sent to Hell as any killer like him would be. But Malebolgia offered him a bargain and just like all the others, he made the deal. Now, he resides in those alleys where we've been watching him, studying him, and waiting for the right time to take him down. Since his return to Earth, he's continued to kill."

She was right. In his search for answers, Jack had read all about the bodies that kept turning up in Spawn's alleys.

"So what, you say. They were all murderers, they deserved what they got. I'm certain that in the Hellspawn's mind, he justifies it in the same way. Many Hellspawns try to hang on to their humanity by doing what they feel is right. But as killers, it's all they know how to do, so they trick themselves into thinking that they're doing the world a service by punishing those who have spilled innocent blood. But all they are really doing is sending more souls to Hell and recruiting for Malebolgia's army. They enact his will without even realizing it. And when his army is completed, he will bring his legion of Spawns right here to our gate. The final battle for existence, for the survival of our kind and the souls of yours will begin with Al Simmons leading them as Malebolgia's General. That is who your protector _really_ is, Jackson, nothing like the savior you thought him to be."

She knew. She knew how Jack viewed Spawn, even after that night he went back. But was it all true? Was Al Simmons really just a slave to the devil meant to lead the end of mankind? The answers he was looking for...he got them...But he didn't like them. Everything he believed in was shaken. Jack didn't know what to think.

"Now, back to the matter at hand."

Jack looked back at Gabrielle, hoping for something he could take comfort in.

"You now know the truth about the Hellspawn. So, you can understand why we would be concerned that your encounter with him as well as your admiration might've led you astray. I'm happy to see that despite all that you have suffered...your heart is still pure."

"My...my heart?"

"Jackson Darby, I'm going to be honest with you. Up until a few days ago, you did _not_ have our attention. We first saw you six years ago, when you were a child...the night you and Cyan Fitzgerald were taken."

Another shock to the system. They had been watching him for _that_ long?

"Your heart was pure even then. But you were just a child. Many children are born with a clean slate and a light that won't go out for many years. After the night you escaped that _other_ monster, we figured that it was only a matter of time before you would become jaded and the light would soon fade."

Gabrielle stood up and and went to the front of her desk. She sat down at the edge of it, but not in a way to be flirtatious, but to be able to look through Jack's eyes closer. She leaned forward so Jack could see hers. She wanted him to see her clearly as she talked while she could see him and see how he responded.

"When you went back into the alleys and met with the Hellspawn after all these years, we were watching. We were still keeping tabs on him, but we never expected to see you again. But there you were, standing before him...your light shining brighter than it ever had."

Her expression changed. She was looking at Jack with hopefulness in her eyes. What did she mean by light?

"We began to watch you and we found that your life had taken an unexpected turn of events."

Jack was about to panic. That meant they knew about the Autobots. His expression must've gave him away.

"You don't have to worry, Jackson. We know everything about every race throughout the universe, Cybertronians included. We _didn't_ know that you had come to befriend a group of them, among them, a Prime."

Jack was beginning to feel a little more at ease. With the subject switching back to his current protectors, to Optimus, it was helping him forget the mess he had gotten himself into.

"We know what it means to be a Prime, the honor it holds. You respect this Prime, yes?"

Jack smiled for the first time today.

"Yeah...I do."

"As you should. Optimus Prime is a good being with a pure heart, just like you. It shouldn't surprise me at all that he named you an honorary Prime."

"How do you..."

"How do I know?" Gabrielle smiled. "I may have gotten the word from Primus himself after learning about you."

It just never stopped, the things he was learning shifting from Spawn to himself, it continued to shock him.

"Optimus Prime doesn't know this, but his word can sometimes be as could as Primus'. I understand he entrusted you with something of great importance as a token of trust."

Jack quickly held the Key to Vector Sigma hidden beneath his shirt. She knew about that too?

"And you used it to restore his memories in a time of crisis. Jackson, when you did that, Primus saw for himself why Optimus Prime had trusted you and named you honorary. He was so impressed by your actions that he granted you a true title, even though you are human."

It took a moment for Jack to realized what he was told, but when it sank in, Jack was stuck in a state of disbelief.

"Are...Are you saying that..."

"Jackson Darby, it is my honor to tell you that since the events of Unicron's awakening, you have become the first ever Human Prime of Earth."

With those words, Jack's breath was taken.

"Which is why we need your help?"

* * *

"That makes no sense. Jack is just a kid."

Cogliostro had just explained to Arcee what Heaven wanted with him and she was far less than happy, as was Spawn.

"I hate to say it, but I'm with E.T. here." Spawn said from his little corner, far away from Arcee. "Why would Heaven want someone like Jack to fight for them? He's no soldier. I've seen child soldiers. He isn't broken or brainwashed like them.

"You know full well why they want him, Spawn. You've seen it. Jackson's soul is incorruptible."

"Yeah, a regular choir boy." Spawn replied. "What good does a good boy do in a war against Hell?"

"He is more than just a choir boy. His heart is so pure that he possesses the ability to guide lost souls back into the light, so long as even the slightest flicker remains."

Arcee cut back in.

"Alright, slow down. Souls and light, what do you mean that?"

Cogliostro turned back to Arcee.

"On your home planet, what do you call the very essence of your species, the part of them that remains, even after death?"

"Our spark." Arcee answered. "We were created from the Well of the All-Spark by Primus and when whe offline, we return to the Well to be created again."

"And what of those who have lived their lives causing pain and torment to others?"

Arcee immediately thought of Airachnid and Starscream and Megatron.

"They go to the Pit of Unicron. Legends say they spend the rest of eternity being melted down and rebuilt as his slaves."

"I see...Primus is your God, The Well is your Heaven, Unicron is the devil, and the Pit is hell. Your sparks are your souls."

"I...guess that sounds right."

"Then let me explain. Humans are far better at sinning then they are at saving. There are more souls in Hell than there are in Heaven. God and Satan have been warring for eternities and the final battle is upon us. As it stands, Hell has the greater numbers."

A few days ago, Arcee wouldn't even think to believe in this supernatural nonsense humans were always on about. But one of her enemies came back from the dead and was nearly unkillable. He beliefs were shattered when she saw Airachnid with the same powers as Spawn.

"Heaven has tried to build their own by allowing sinners to be ascended and recruiting killers before Hell could get a hold of them first. As it stands, the two factions are near indistinguishable from one another. Heaven desperately wants to win and is in need of a new method of attack."

"And Jack somehow can make that happen?"

Cogliostro sighed.

"He can...When he returned, they saw what we saw. It's why I warned him to stay away."

Arcee approached Cogliostro.

"Sir, please. What do they want with Jack? Why is he so important to them?"

* * *

"Because, Jackson Darby, as a human Prime, you have an ability we angels do not. In the time we can lead one soul to salvation, you can lead a hundred."

Gabrielle knelt before Jack and placed her hands upon his shoulders.

"Angels are not so good at reaching the minds and hearts of mankind. We are beings born of another plane of existence. It's not easy for us to get humans to see the light. But for a human with a heart like yours, you can guide them to us. You can show them the way."

"I don't understand. What do you mean by that?"

"Jackson, in the end...God will save all, even the devil. But right now, the devil's grip on your kind is tight and it gets tighter with each day passed. People are blind to the light and are letting darkness consume them. Hell has corrupted and defiled countless souls of good men, God fearing men and turned them away from us. What's worse, he's turning them in his slaves, his soldiers."

"You mean, Hellspawns?"

"Yes, Jackson. Because of that, we've been desperately trying to save as many souls as we could, even those who have lost their lives without redemption. There are sinners here, Jackson, in Heaven. And if we don't save them soon, they will descend down to Malebolgia."

Jack was trying to make sense of all this.

"Am I...Am I supposed to save them?"

"Yes, Jackson."

"But how? I'm just a kid."

"No, you aren't _just a kid_ , Jackson. You are a human Prime. You're the same as Optimus, who you admire so greatly. Just as he led the last of his kind to Earth and saved his species from extinction, you can save the souls of yours. You can show them the light. You can purify their hearts."

Gabrielle let Jack absorb this information.

"Your partner, Arcee, she walked a dangerous path for a long time. She was no sinner, but the hatred that existed in her heart had the potential to lead her into the darkness to consume her. She could have just as easily lost herself in her own rage as Megatronus did when he created the Decepticons. But you helped her find her way back. You saved her, Jackson. And you did it without knowing what you really were. Imagine what you could do now that you have this knowledge."

Once again, Jack found himself with a heavy weight on his shoulders. Just like when he learned that only he could restore Optimus' memories and he would have to go to Cybertron to do it, he was overwhelmed. But Gabrielle was right, Jack did admire Optimus. He was his hero, everything Jack could only wish to become. When he learned of what he had to do to save Optimus, Jack didn't hesitate. Now, he had a much bigger task before him and he was recognized by Primus for it. He couldn't turn his back on this either. But he still didn't understand what he was supposed to do.

"So, what? I go up to these souls and I...pray?"

Gabrielle laughed as she sat back on her desk.

"Not exactly, Jackson. All you really have to do is talk to them, help them see the changes they need to make to be saved. I know it sounds too easy. Anyone can say anything to them. But others only have words. Your light, it holds influence that carries into your words. You _can_ reach them where others cannot."

"And what if I can't? What if they don't want to change?"

"If you can not save them, Jackson, nothing can. Unfortunately, the only thing left to be done would be to let them be dragged down. You won't be able to save them all."

Jack then had an idea.

"What about Hellspawns?"

Gabrielle stopped smiling.

"What about them?"

"Could I save them? Could I...save Al Simmons?"

Now, she was almost scowling.

"There is no saving them, Jackson. The Hellspawns have already sold their souls to Malebolgia. There is nothing left to save."

"But the one from the alleys, he knows who he is. He's not mindless. He saved me twice already."

"He killed the ones who would've killed you. That's not the same as saving you. I told you, he only thinks he's in control. Malebolgia pulls his strings, make no mistake about that."

"But what if I can cut those strings? If I can save a sinner in Heaven, maybe I can..."

"The Hellspawns must be slayne, Jackson." Gabrielle raised her voice. "There is no redemption for them. They are full fledged agents of Hell, one step below demon natives. No Hellspawn has ever been able to break free of Malebolgia."

The stern look on her face told Jackson that nothing more needed to be said. But Jack couldn't accept that. If a soul of a sinner they got to before Hell did could be saved, why couldn't Al Simmons be saved also? Jack then decided to dig deeper about something he wondered, but hadn't really focused on, a questioned buried in the back of his mind not about Spawn.

"What about that old man?"

Gabrielle looked confused.

"What old man?"

"In the alleys, there was this old guy who knew Spawn."

Gabrielle was a little more attentive.

"Tell me about this old man."

"He talked to Spawn like he was his friend. He seemed to know a lot about him. He knew me. He remembered me. He knew what Spawn was. It was him that I heard the name from."

Gabrielle pondered.

"I thought he was just some old guy who's been with Spawn for a while. But now you're telling me about Heaven and Hell and I've been wondering if...Is he with you guys?"

Gabrielle still look confused, though intrigued, so Jack continued.

"I mean, he seems like he's able to keep Spawn under control. He listens to him when he tells Spawn to calm down. He's trying to help Spawn. And if he's one of you, then he thinks that Spawn _can_ be saved. What if he's right? What if he's just been trying to find a way to free him? What if I'm that way?"

Gabrielle didn't look like she was giving Jack's theory much thought. In truth, she was still trying to figure out who this old man was. Not long after Jack was finished did she remember.

"You're referring to Cogliostro."

"Cogliostro?"

"And he is _not_ one of us."

"He isn't...Who is he?"

"He's another agent of Hell, Jackson. And whatever he told you, I can assure you that it was a lie."

"But that can't right."

"How so, Jackson?"

"He tried to get me to leave the alleys. He warned me about my soul being put at risk. And he looks just like a normal human."

"You think that agent's of Hell cannot take the form of an old man?"

"Are you saying he's a demon?"

"No, he's another Hellspawn, Jackson, just like Al Simmons."

Jackson had to stop and think about that for a second because right away, he felt that didn't make any sense.

"But he doesn't have a suit."

"Hellspawn's can disguise themselves."

"But you said they can't take the suits off. If he can disguise himself, why doesn't Al?"

"I don't know, Jackson. I'm sure he has his reasons."

"If he's a Hellspawn, then why didn't he use his powers even once? He didn't do anything during any of my run-ins with them."

Gabrielle didn't even care to answer. She was acting very differently than she was a second ago.

"And wait...If you were watching Al Simmons, were you watching the old man too? Why aren't you so worried about him."

Jack got up and started walking around the room. Something didn't feel right. There was something Gabrielle wasn't telling him.

"You're saying the old man, Cogliostro, is a Hellspawn."

"Yes, Jackson, a Hellspawn."

Jack thought for a few more moments.

"Is...or was?"

Jack turned around and saw that Gabrielle was now standing up. She didn't like the question one bit.

"He was, wasn't he?" Jack asked accusingly. "But not anymore."

"Jackson, stop."

"He broke free, didn't he. He freed himself from Malebolgia."

"Don't go any further, boy."

"And now, he's trying to free Spawn."

"Jackson."

"He's trying to save him...They _can_ be saved."

Jack suddenly felt a hand around his neck and he was lifted up off the ground by Gabrielle.

"Listen well, boy. The Hellspawn are our enemies. There _is_ no saving them. They exist for one purpose, to kill for their master, Malebolgia."

Jack kicked his legs and struggled to break free, but his body weakened as his lungs choked on the last bit of oxygen.

"So get this idea that _you_ can save them out of your head and focus on the task at hand. Are we clear?"

Gabrielle released Jack and let him fall to the ground. As he gasped for air, Gabrielle walked past him and poured herself another glass of water.

"Are we clear, Jackson Darby?" She asked without looking at him.

Jack rubbed his burning throat and got his strength back, but he remained on the floor.

"Jackson, are you still with me?" Gabrielle asked.

"Who's gonna fight the war." He asked with his strained voice.

Gabrielle turned around as she sipped her water.

"Hm?"

"When the Hellspawns come to the gates...Who's gonna fight them? If there's as many of them as you say, then there's more of them then you. You can't fight them alone...So, who's gonna fight with you?"

Gabrielle merely watched Jack on the ground, not answering his question. Jack smiled bitterly, figuring it all out.

"Save the souls of sinners...You mean killers, good ones. You don't want me to save anyone. You want more soldiers for _your_ army. You just want me to purify them so you can draft them without worrying about them turning on you."

Gabrielle exhaled in disappointment and placed her drink back on the tray. Jack continued to talk as she walked over to her desk again.

"So, I'm just glorified recruiter for you, is that it? I'm just here to 'save' them so you can send them off to war."

Jack laughed.

"Meanwhile, I have a way to put a real end to the ones you're really worried about without fighting and you won't even hear it out. You hate them that much, huh? You guys don't sound like angels. And this place doesn't sound like Heaven. It looks like you're all just doing it the same way as the red guy downstairs."

Gabrielle pushed a button on her desk phone.

"Celeste, could you send someone in to retrieve Mr. Darby?"

 _"Yes, Ms. Gabrielle."_

Just as Jack stood up, the doors flew opened and in came two larger looking angelic women, each giving Gabrielle their full attention.

"Mr. Darby here isn't going to be as cooperative as we hoped, so we're going to keep him here until he listens to reason."

Gabrielle motioned her hand and the two grabbed each of Jack's arms. He didn't resist as they dragged him away, physically at least.

"I want no part of this, Gabrielle. You're the same as they are. You're the one not listening to reason. We can save them and stop this war."

Jack continued until he was taken through the lobby doors and out of earshot. As they took him to God knows where, he made a hard decision that he wouldn't play their game. There was no greater good, as far as he could see. There was only a devil and a lesser devil. He wouldn't be there pawn. He'd refuse them at every turn, even if it meant never seeing his family again.

* * *

"And what if he says no?" Arcee asked.

Cogliostro continued to look grim.

"They will not give him a choice. They need him."

Spawn moved from his spot and approached Cogliostro.

"Then I'll go bust down gates of Heaven myself and take him back."

"Don't be foolish, Spawn. Even if you could get to Heaven's gates, make it past their defenses, and find Jackson Darby, if you bring him back here, you will mark him for death. If they witness him being rescued by a Hellspawn, they will decided that he has thrown in with Malebolgia and is their enemy. They will hunt him as they do us."

"So, there's no other way?" Arcee asked.

"Jackson will return. It's a matter of when."

"When what?"

"When he gives in to their will and become their instrument, willingly or not."

"What kind of Heaven forces a child into their war?" Spawn angrily asked.

"One that has fought for so long, they have lost sight of what they are fighting for. Make no mistake, Spawn, even Gods fall to the same trappings as mortals."

Arcee didn't like this. It sounded like her only option was to wait.

"So, when Jackson comes back...What then?"

"I do not know, Arcee. Heaven may leave him be for the time being. But eventually, they will call on him again to do their bidding."

Cogliostro looked back to Spawn.

"Which will most certainly including taking _you_ down, Spawn."

Spawn looked shocked to hear that, then he saw Arcee looking at him, suddenly untrusting.

"I won't do it." He said. "I won't...I won't try to kill him."

Both Arcee's and Cogliostro's expressions changed.

"I will never kill another child, even if he is my enemy. I didn't save his life to take it myself. I'd let him send me back to Hell before that."

Arcee, for the first time, was surprised by Spawn. He really did care about Jack. Also for the first time, she found some common ground with him. They were both scared for Jack's safety and desperately wanted to save him.

* * *

Jack was placed in a room that was bigger than his whole house and infinitely more lavish. Just like the lobby, it was decorated and tasteful, seemingly belonging to a person of royalty. The room was filled with delicious food and drink, far beyond anything he had ever eaten back on Earth. Gabrielle had even come to see him earlier, offering him a companion or several to spend his nights with. She wasn't subtle about what she meant, dropping all pretense by bragging to Jack that sex with an angel was far superior than with a mortal. She was doing anything and everything to try and tempt Jack.

Of course, all of these promises were made on opposite ends of a caged door that blocked off the exit, a gilded cage if he had ever seen one. He gave in to none of her offerings or promises. He ate when he had to, drank when he had to, and ignored his teenage hormones that urged him to lose his virginity in an angelic threesome. He would not be tempted. He would not be their tool.

But days went by and Jack was already missing his family. Not only did he missed them, he was certain that they missed him and they were far beyond afraid. They knew nothing of what was going on and didn't even know if he was alive. His poor mother, he could only imagine how sick she must've been making herself. He wanted to see her so badly.

But if there was one thing he learned and held on to was that he was a recognized human Prime. And his instincts were telling him that this whole setup was wrong. He needed to hang on until he could figure out a way to escape. If he could make it back to Optimus and use the space bridge to see Primus himself, he might get the answers he needed. But how was he going to escape? How do you escape Heaven?

Jack then heard a commotion outside of his prison. It started off as banging and thumping, but quickly escalated to swords clashing and bones breaking. Jack backed all the way to the wall behind him, unsure of what was going on outside.

The door burst opened and Jack's eyes fell upon another warrior angel. This one was also a red head, clad in silver and gold armor with a large sword strapped to her back. She held a lance in her hand that was bigger than her, seemingly big enough to hurt Arcee. She wore a gold helmet that only framed her face, decorated on the sides with a pair of silver wings, making her look like a Valkyrie. Her eyes were covered up in black war paint in the shape of sharp arches that were very similar to the white arches in Spawn's mask. Then Jack noticed her earrings. They were the same ones the woman named Angela was wearing.

She kicked the cell door opened with no effort and Jack tried his best to back even further into the wall. He had a feeling the ginger angel already didn't like him and it seemed like she was there to do anything but show him mercy. She approached him with a fierce look in her eyes.

"I guess..." Jack nervously began. "I guess Gabrielle got tired of waiting for me to change my mind."

Jack closed his eyes and submitted to his fate.

"Just make it quick."

But moments that felt like an eternity passed and nothing happened.

"I'm taking you home, Jackson." She said.

Jack opened one of his eyes and looked at Angela.

She was suddenly looking less fierce than before.

"This isn't your war...And I won't let them force you into it."

She held out her hand to Jack, asking for his trust.

"We need to go."

Hoping he was making the right decision, Jack took her hand she she led him out of his cage. Angela knew what this meant for her, but this was the line she would not cross for Gabrielle. Savages or not, humans still had a choice. Gabrielle did not have the right to take Jackson Darby's away from him, pure light or no pure light.

* * *

 **So, everyone back on Earth is confused and scared and Arcee is desperate enough to go to Spawn and Cogliostro for help. Thankfully, Cogs kept Spawn at bay long enough for Arcee to explain what's going on. But at the moment, none of them really know what's gonna happen except that Jack will eventually return. But what comes after is what's got Cogliostro worried.  
So, Angela was introduced in this chapter. I made some slight changes. In the comics, Angela was a bounty hunter of Heaven and had to go through Gabrielle for permits and the like. Here, she works for Gabrielle, but often breaks the rules and ignores protocol. She's basically a rogue cop. As always, she's at odds with Gabrielle, but this time, she's really taking issue with what they're doing.  
So, now Jack knows what's the story behind Spawn and why Airachnid came after him. But he isn't buying what Gabrielle's selling and doesn't want to take part in any of it. Still, Jack knows he's going to have to play a part, but he'll have to figure that out when he returns home.**  
 **In the end, it was Angela that freed him from Gabrielle's custody, but how's that gonna affect his past with Spawn, especially since his partner may be working with him at that moment.  
Things are happening and might be getting a wee bit out of control. Really trying to stay on these stories, but I'm working on fumes most of the time. I must continue to apologize for these long waits. But, I can get back to Old Nightmare and ASOG, which had gotten a lot more followers these past few weeks, and that gives me time to figure out where I want to go with this story. I hope to hear from you all then. Thanks again, and Lord give me strength because this job is kicking my ass.  
**


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